Teen Wolf: The Hunt is On
by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx
Summary: With the alpha pack establishing their territory, the Beacon Hills werewolves find themselves up against another threat in the form of a dark Druid. Blood will be shed, and choices made as Katie is forced to decide on who her heart desires most.
1. First Day Terrors

**The new season has got me itching to get back into writing this series; several new ideas have come to mind. Some revolving around the endgame pairing. I still am unsure on how it's going to happen, or who Katie will end up with, but I did have an awesome review on the last story "Natural Born Survivor" and the suggestion left was impeccable - so I may take the story down that route.**

**There will be a lot more twists and turns to come too! I hope they satisfy you all. Anyway, I have bored you long enough... please enjoy this new installment.**

**Ooh! Wait, I do need to add this. Updates! Updates will be slow. I still have mountains of Uni work to get done in the week, and a few hours on the weekend is not enough time to update all outdated stories that I have on the go.**

**But, yeah, enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Wolf. This story is fan-made. I do however own Katie and Ashley Whittemore, and Sean Heartman.

**Author's Note:** This is not where my Teen Wolf series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost. I suggest you read my stories in order.

**Finding an Anchor - Ohana - Make Me a Believer - Possessions - Luna - There's No Place Like Home - Natural Born Survivor.**

* * *

**Title:** The Hunt is On

**Summary:** With the alpha pack establishing their territory, the Beacon Hills werewolves find themselves up against another threat in the form of a dark Druid. Blood will be shed, and choices made as Katie decides on who her heart desires most.

* * *

_She screamed and wailed in agony as his body ripped her open with each violent thrust, but her cries and struggles only excited him more as he pounded faster into her._

_"No, please..." she begged. "Please... somebody... somebody help..."_

_Her world started to darken, but a fist collided with her face, snapping her awake. He didn't want her to pass out on him, he wanted her to experience every waking moment of what he was doing to her. He wanted her to scream, to beg... he wanted to hear her cry._

_"Somebody... please..."_

"HELP ME!"

Katie awoke with a start.

She looked around the room. It was different to the one she had woken up in after she had been discharged from the hospital, it was more familiar to her; the walls had been painted a light blue, the carpet was a fluffy dark blue, and there were pictures of her family and friends all over the place. A work desk stood next to the window, perched on it was her laptop, a few books, stacks of papers, and other bits and bobs.

On the bed beside her lay her Bestiary. It was open a half-written on page, and a pen was caught in the groove where the pages connected with the spine. Sitting up, Katie rubbed her eyes and then looked at the page. She vaguely remembered writing in it last night. She had started off writing about the Kanima, and filling in everything she had learnt about it, and then Aiden had shown up and started talking to her about bonds, bites and mates - soul mates to be exact.

She couldn't remember everything he had said, and it seemed that she hadn't had the sense to write down what he had been telling her last night. She cursed herself silently for being so stupid, and for not taking notes, but this only meant that she'd have to meet up with Aiden again and have him go through it one more time. But then again was that really a good idea? She was supposed to be ignoring and avoiding him. But would one more time hurt? And she was learning more and more about werewolf bonds. Maybe there was a way on how to break them, and Aiden was the only person she could go to for this - at least he was the only werewolf she could go to with this.

_Knock. Knock._

"Katie, you OK?"

"Yeah, Jackson, i'm OK."

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

The door squeaked open and Jackson stepped inside. He was half-dressed, and looking concerned as he closed the door behind him. "Are you sure you're OK?" he asked, shuffling across the room and sitting on the edge of his sister's bed. "We heard screaming."

"Yeah. Bad dream," Katie replied. "Sorry."

"It's OK. We were already awake."

Katie smiled faintly, and looked down at her bestiary again.

"Ready for the first day back at school?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah."

"You know, Mom said that if you're not ready, you don't have to go back yet."

Katie nodded. "I know," she said. "But if I don't go back today, then tomorrow is just going to be a repeat. I've got to bite the bullet sooner or later."

"And the fact that the media somehow got wind of your predicament doesn't bother you?"

"I guess people would've found out sooner or later, right?" Katie asked. "I mean, half of Blake's friends are still in school. I can't see them staying quiet for long, can you?"

Jackson cocked his head, and shrugged his shoulders. He then took his sister's hand and squeezed it tightly. "You're going to be OK," he said. "You've got your friends. You've got the pack and, most importantly, you've got me."

"As long as I've got you, Jackson, it doesn't matter about anyone else," Katie said.

"I know. But I just wanted you to feel a little more reassured," said Jackson. "Your heart is beating a thousand miles a minute, after all."

Katie smiled sheepishly, and shook her head. "Stupid werewolf enhanced powers," she muttered.

"So, you ready?"

Biting her lower lip, Katie looked up at her brother, smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. Let's do this."

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Pulling into the parking lot of Beacon Hills High school, Jackson looked across at his sister as he turned off the engine. The look on her face, as she stared up at the brick building was enough to tell him that she was nervous, despite what she said, and the beating of her heart made him reach across and take her hand.

Katie jumped, a small scream escaping her lips. She quickly relaxed when she realized she was safe, and that it was her brother touching her and no one dangerous.

"Sorry," Jackson apologized. "Are you sure you don't want me to take you home?"

"I'm sure," Katie nodded. "Maybe I'll calm down once we're inside, and at my locker. You know, get back into the full swing of things. I need something to occupy my mind so i'm not constantly thinking about what happened, or looking over my shoulder and waiting for the next attack."

"No one is going to attack you," Jackson promised, "and you won't need to constantly check over your shoulder, that's what I'm here for."

"But you can't follow me around all the time."

"Actually, I can."

"But we have different classes."

"Not anymore," Jackson said, smiling. "I had Mom call the school this morning. They've agreed that we take the same classes so that I can keep an eye on you."

"You're going to take AP Calculus, Latin, French and Biology?" Katie asked.

"Yeaaaa - no, no, i'm not," said Jackson. "But Lydia is taking Calculus, Allison is taking French, Danny will be with you for Biology - why couldn't you take normal classes?"

Katie smiled. "I am," she said. "But I'm also taking advanced classes because I sailed through the others last year."

"I fail to understand how you and Lydia could hate each other so much," said Jackson, getting out of the car. "You're exactly the same."

"Technically, we're not," said Katie. "Lydia is a genius. I'm not."

"You're close."

Katie rolled her eyes, and swung her overhead bag up onto her shoulder. She stopped in front of her brother's car as he joined her, and held out his arm.

"Shall we?"

"We shall," Katie nodded, linking her arm through his and, ignoring the stares and whispers from her fellow classmates, made her way into the school.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Allison smiled as Lydia squealed and spun around to come face-to-face with Jackson; the couple embraced and kissed, while Katie rolled her eyes and hugged the older brunette.

"How are you feeling?" Allison asked, pulling away from Katie as she proceeded to open her locker. She had managed to persuade the headmaster to move her locker closer to Allison and Lydia.

"Pretty good," said Katie. "I had another nightmare this morning, but they're getting easier to deal with."

"Another nightmare and you're still at school?" Lydia asked.

"I need a distraction," said Katie. "My mother did suggest that I stay home a little longer, but I can't keep running away from what happened. I have to face it sooner or later."

"It is attitude like that, that'll make you a great hunter," said Allison. "We still on for this afternoon?"

Katie nodded, and pulled her text books from her locker, along with a notepad and folder. She adjusted a few pictures on her locker door, and then slammed it shut. "What do you have first?" she asked.

"English. You?"

"Same. Lydia?"

"Same."

The three girls smiled and looked up at Jackson. "I told you, Katie, I'm in every class except your AP ones."

"Which AP classes are you taking?" Allison asked as the four of them set off from English.

"Calculus, French, Latin and Biology."

"So, you're pretty much covered in those classes," said Allison. "You've got me in French."

Katie smiled, and nodded. "Lydia, you're taking Calculus, right?" she asked.

"Yup."

"Danny's got biology covered," Jackson reminded. "We just need to find someone for Latin now."

"Hopefully I can handle one class alone," said Katie. "I'll just sit somewhere secluded, keep my head down and my phone on, no one should bother me."

Jackson nodded, but Katie could tell he was still unsure. Reaching the English classroom, the four friends entered and quickly took their seats; Katie sat behind in front of Stiles, while Jackson and Lydia took the last two remaining seats at the window.

Allison hesitated and glanced around for an empty chair, the only one she could see was in front of Scott, and beside Katie. Biting her lip the hunter walked towards it. "Is anyone...?" she asked, awkwardly.

"No, no," said Scott, shaking his head. "It's all you. All yours. It's totally vacant."

Katie glanced up at Allison as she sat down. She didn't need to be a werewolf to know that Allison felt awkward. "Hey," she whispered, leaning forward. "Do you want to switch?"

But before Allison could answer the repetition of message tones echoed around the class. Katie frowned and fished her phone from her pocket, all the while looking from one of her friends to the other. What were the chances of all of them getting a text message at the same time?

"The offing was bared by a black bank of clouds and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness."

Looking up from her phone Katie watched as brunette, not that much older than herself, walked into the room wearing a pencil thin skirt, and a flowery blouse. She too was holding a phone, and reading the mass text out to the rest of the class.

"This is the last to the first book we are going to read," the brunette said, "it is also the last text you will receive in this class. Phone's off, everyone."

Katie sighed, exchanged a look with Jackson, and then switched off her phone.

She felt lost already.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

English was silent.

Everyone had their heads down and was copying from the board. Every now and then, Katie would lift her head just to inspect her surroundings as the familiar feeling of panic settled in her chest; after spending close to three days trapped underground the idea of being in a classroom filled with students was a suffocating sensation.

Swallowing hard, Katie's eyes darted around the room, taking in everyone who was scribbling away at their notes. Her hands tightened around her pen, and started to shake, her knuckles turned white from the pressure, and her breathing started to come in hard gasps.

Allison, who had just written a note to Scott, looked up quickly and reached over to touch her friend's shoulder. She stopped inches away from Katie as she remembered what Melissa McCall had said about touching someone mid-panic attack; she didn't want Katie to freak out in the middle of class, and draw attention to herself. Instead she took another scrap of paper, scribbled out a sentence, and tossed it onto her friend's desk.

Katie jumped in her seat as the paper landed in front of her. She grabbed it quickly, afraid that she would continue drowning if she wasn't holding it, and ripped it open.

_Whatever you're seeing, it's not real._

_You're safe._.. was scrawled on the inside.

Katie looked up and caught Allison's eye, offered her a weak smile and nodded.

Allison returned it and then reached for Katie's hand. At this point she didn't care if she was caught, her friend needed her, and she was going to help, just as she had promised.

"Mr. McCall."

Both Katie and Allison, along with the rest of the class, looked up as their teacher, Jennifer Blake, called on Scott. She didn't say anything, merely motioned with her finger for him to join her.

Scott hastily packed away his things, and headed out of the classroom, leaving his friends to exchange curious glances on what was going.

"Can you hear anything?" Katie asked her brother.

"Yeah, Melissa wants him at the hospital," Jackson answered.

"Why would she want him at the hospital?" Stiles asked. "It's the first day back. What could possibly be wrong now?"

The others shrugged, and quickly turned back to their work as Jennifer returned.

After Scott's departure, the class proceeded without incident. Katie focused her entire attention on her work, rather than her anxiety feelings until a thud against the window caused her to jump nearly a mile in her seat.

She wasn't the only one who had noticed the sound, everyone in class was looking up from their work to investigate the strange noise. A large crimson spot was on the window, and running from its centre was a thin crack.

Jennifer frowned, put down the chalk she had been using, and edged closer to the windows. The sound of crowing from outside became louder and louder as several black birds rammed into the glass, causing more and more cracks to appear.

_**SMASH!**_

The glass broke under the pressure of the birds hitting it from the inside, allowing an army of birds into the room.

"GET DOWN, EVERYONE! GET DOWN! GET DOWN! GET DOWN! GET DOWN!" Jennifer screamed, grabbing two students and pulling them to the floor, as they tried to hide behind her desk.

Students screamed and dived under their desks, while others scrambled for the doors at the front and back of the room; Katie felt hands on her shoulders as someone forced her to the floor, covering her body with their own.

Papers flew into the air, as chairs and desks were overturned in haste; despite where anyone tried to hide the crows found them, pecking at any exposed flesh they could find. Katie wasn't sure who was shielding her, but she was thankful and grateful to them.

Soon the chaos died down, the crows stopped pecking and squawking, each one falling the ground stiff and lifeless. Students attentively snuck peeks over the tops of their desks, and others looked up from their arms.

Jackson, who had been shielding Lydia looked around for his sister, and saw her emerging from a desk with Stiles. Despite his on-and-off friendship with the Sheriff's son, Jackson was grateful to him for protecting Katie when he couldn't.

Rising to her feet, Allison pressed a hand to her head as blood seeped through a wound near her hairline. She looked to her friends to see that they were also covered in wounds, more or less Jackson and Stiles than Katie and Lydia, but the two girls were looking more shaken if anything.

"What the hell was that?" Lydia asked as the five of the grouped together in the middle of the room.

But no one answered her, mostly because neither of them had a clue as to what the hell had just happened.

* * *

**Copyrighted ©**

**Well, what do you know? I actually got chapter 1 of 3a typed up.**

**What did you think?**

_**Reviews, Favourites and alerts are all welcome.**_

**Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx**

**Chapter updated Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at 2:08am**


	2. Open Wounds

**You will not believe the week I have had! Mountains of work just sitting on my desk waiting to be written/finished blah, blah, blah, and I've spent it curled up and waiting to die [not entirely sure if i'm joking or not here]. I hate stress. I hate work. I hated everything last week - miserable week.**

**Anyway... here's chapter two.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Wolf. This story is fan-made. I do however own Katie and Ashley Whittemore, and Sean Heartman.

**Dedications:** This chapter is dedicated to the following: **Remiav, The One Who Is All, LuvWolves4ever, Sexybandgeek, DoodleBugNY, WickedlyMinx, WideAwake94, PerksOfBeingABelieber, PANDAFiiED, Peace-Love-Twilight-Forever, xo-Sarang-hae, Emmettluver2010, TheMadnessWithin13, Chella8181, Dukbokki, Miss-ana09, thegirlwhowaited6, Scarlett Angelica Potter, Mickey423, Bigun03, XxRkela-chanxX, BritanyJean, SoulVirus, JustanamelessGirl, Alexstarlight18, rose-wiltshire13, Rebecca2810** and** onlyheavenknows.**

**Author's Note:** This is not where my Teen Wolf series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost. I suggest you read my stories in order:

**Finding an Anchor - Ohana - Make Me a Believer - Possessions - Luna - There's No Place Like Home - Natural Born Survivor.**

* * *

**Title:** The Hunt is On

**Summary:** With the alpha pack establishing their territory, the Beacon Hills werewolves find themselves up against another threat in the form of a dark Druid. Blood will be shed, and choices made as Katie decides on who her heart desires most.

* * *

Sean Heartman entered the first period English classroom and looked around in mild surprise, his eyes barely widened and inch at the flock of dead birds which were scattered all over the place.

"Uncle Sean?"

Sean looked up at the mention of his name and title within the Whittemore family. Katie was standing just in front of him; she wasn't looking too bad, but was visibly shaking. Sean sighed and took two large strides towards her, before engulfing her in a hug.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

"I think so," Katie answered, her voice muffled as she buried her face into his stomach, and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I owe my lack of injuries to Stiles, if it hadn't been for him I'd look a lot like everyone else."

"Where's your brother?" Sean asked, scanning the classroom for Jackson.

"He's outside with Lydia," Katie answered. "She's feeling shell-shocked."

"Understandable," Sean nodded.

"Mr. Heartman?"

Looking up for the second time, Sean met the gaze of Sheriff Stilinski, and smiled patiently. He wanted to demand what the hell had happened at the school, and why were there dead birds all over the English classroom; but he didn't. He held his tongue.

"May I speak with Katie?" Sheriff Stilinski asked. "I need to take her statement of what happened here."

"I don't -"

"It's OK," said Katie, lifting her head from her Uncle's clothes. She lifted her gaze to meet that of Stile's father, and smiled weakly. "I don't remember much," she said. "I remember a thud against the window, and when I looked 'round I saw a flock of birds heading towards the school. At first everyone thought they were just going to pass over, and they started to swoop down and crash against the glass. The glass broke and the birds flew inside, attacking us all. Mrs. Blake yelled for us all to get down, and we did."

The Sheriff nodded and jotted down parts of Katie's statement in his notebook. "Can you tell me how long the attack went on for?" he asked.

"I-I can't be sure," Katie answered, shaking her head. "Maybe a couple of seconds. It was hard to think or worry about the time, there was so much going on, we were all just scared, we just wanted it to be over."

"You say 'we'," said the sheriff, "do you mean you, personally, or everyone?"

Katie looked from the Sheriff to Stiles, and then back again. "I don't speak for the whole class, but we were terrified, the screams were proof of that. So by 'we', I mean everyone."

The Sheriff nodded, jotted down the last of Katie's statement, and smiled lightly at her. "Just one more question: Can you explain your lack of injuries?" he asked.

"Stiles," Katie answered. "He shielded me. Pushed me to the floor, and covered me from any further attacks."

Sean wrapped his arms once again around his niece, and then looked at the Sheriff. "Will that be all?" he asked. "I'd like to get my nephew and take both he and Katie home."

"That may take a while," said the Sheriff. "We still need to question Jackson, and Miss Martin. But Katie is free to go."

Katie looked up at her Uncle. "I want to stay," she answered. "Besides, you can't take Jackson home, his car is out front and he won't leave it."

Sean nodded. She had a point. "Are you sure you want to stay?" he asked. "I can take you home now, and you start fresh tomorrow."

Katie caught Stiles' eye, and shook her head. "I'll be OK," she said. "I just need to take a few minutes to calm down, and then everything should go back to normal. But if anything changes, I'll call you."

"OK," said Sean. He kissed her forehead, and stepped away. "I'm going to speak with Jackson. I'll remind him to keep a close eye on you, and then just call me if you want to come home, alright?"

Katie nodded, smiled and waved as her Uncle left the room. She could tell by the way he hesitated that he didn't want to leave her, but she was insistent that he did. She didn't want to leave, not when it seemed like something strange was occurring.

Once her uncle was gone, Katie turned back to Stiles, who was watching his father question Chris Argent about being a hunter.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Aiden watched her from afar.

She looked shaken, not necessarily afraid, but definitely shaken. She hugged her binder closer to her chest, and kept her head down as she wove her way through the crowded halls to her locker. She hesitated, and dialed in her code, all the while refusing to look up. Could she feel him watching her?

He wanted to go to her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, and comfort her, like he used to do. There was once a time that found solace being with her, and he wanted to feel that again. She didn't realize how much of a factor she was to him, how much she meant to him as werewolf - not just a person.

Sometimes even just the mere mention of her name brought him peace.

Slamming the door to his locker closed, Aiden took two steps in her direction, and then stopped. That Stilinski kid, the one who had gotten the crap beaten out of him by Blake Daehler's mates, had just stepped out of the sea of students, and was now leaning against the lockers beside her's. They were just talking, but Aiden couldn't help but see the way Katie gravitated towards him. Like he was her anchor.

Aiden knew that not to be true. Stiles wasn't Katie's anchor, her older brother, Jackson was her anchor.

Lowering his head away from the two friends, Aiden narrowed in on their conversation.

_"What the hell happened, Stiles?"_ Katie asked, her voice sending his heart into a slight frenzy. It was quiet, and remote. It brought him strength.

"_I don't know, Katie,_" Stiles replied. "_Has anything strange happened to you the last couple of days? Anything involving animals?_"

Aiden watched as Katie shook her head.

"_No. Why?_"

"_I noticed in class, before the birds hit that Lydia had a band aid on her ankle. She said Prada bit her._"

"_Her dog? Has it ever bitten her before?_"

"_Nope._"

"_Has anything weird, involving animals, happened to you?_"

This time Stiles shook his head.

"_No. But you know the saying 'Bad things happen in three's' - first Prada, now the birds?_"

"_What's the third?_" Katie stated, nodding lightly.

Aiden frowned as he withdrew from the conversation. What did it matter if Lydia Martin's dog had bitten her that morning, and where had they been for birds to attack them? He had thought she had English that morning, at least that is what she had told him last night.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Aiden jumped as Ethan arrived beside him. "Nothing," he answered, turning away from Katie and Stiles.

"You've been told to stay away from her," Ethan said, spotting the cause of his brother's distraction across the hall. "Deucalion's already pissed that you were late last night. She's becoming a distraction. If you want her to live, then you'll stay away from her."

"What if I don't want to stay away from her?" Aiden ask.

"Don't or can't?" Ethan challenged. "Everyone knows where you were last night."

"So? It's not like I tried to hide it."

Ethan smirked. "For the life of your pathetic human, stay away from her," he warned.

"You know," said Aiden. "One day you'll know what it's like to feel this way. I'm going to enjoy watching you trying to stay away from your human."

Ethan laughed and walked away, leaving Aiden to follow him. Before he did, Aiden cast one last look in Katie's direction and was surprised to find her staring at him. Their eyes met, and she promptly turned away.

Aiden sighed and followed after his brother.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

"We need to call Scott," said Stiles. "Tell him everything that has happened, and find out what's happening at the hospital."

Katie nodded and followed Stiles down the hall towards the main doors. Her mind was too preoccupied with Aiden at the moment to worry about anything else; she had felt him watching her while she had been at her locker, and she couldn't help but wonder if he had overheard the conversation between herself and Stiles, if the look on his face was anything to go by, he had.

Would he know anything? _Did_ he know anything? But how could she ask him? She'd need to be able to get around Ethan first; it was obvious he still hated her. Aiden had been content with watching her until Ethan had shown up. She wasn't sure what had been said, but it had to have been fierce because near to the end Aiden had looked like he had wanted to murder his own brother.

"Katie, you OK?"

Katie jumped as Stiles snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Sorry. I was thinking," said Katie.

"About what happened?"

Katie shook her head. "Did you get a hold of Scott?" she asked.

"He's still not answering."

"Well try again," said Katie. "He's gotta be out of the hospital by now."

"Okay... okay..." Stiles said, fumbling with his phone. He scrolled his contacts and re-selected Scott's name, and hit 'call', raising the phone to his ear as it dialed.

Finally Scott answered.

"Dude, where've you been?" Stiles exclaimed, earning a few disgruntled looks from teachers and other students. Katie smiled weakly and apologetically at them, as she herded Stiles towards the doors at the end of the hallway.

Jackson was waiting for them there. He stood up as they reached him, and Katie frowned as she saw he was alone.

"Where's Lydia?" she asked.

"Gone home with Allison," Jackson answered. "Are you OK?"

Katie nodded, and pushed open the door leading to the parking lot. "Yeah. I just wish I knew what was going on, you know?" she asked.

"Any ideas?"

"Not yet. Well, we have one."

"Care to share?"

"It's not fully formulated yet."

Jackson shrugged. "It's better than nothing," he said, leading the way to his car, while Stiles approached his jeep.

"Fair enough," Katie nodded. "Quick question, has anything weird happened to you lately, anything involving animals?"

"No, why?"

Katie shrugged, and shook her head. "Well, don't you find it kinda odd that all that is happening seems to be affecting animals? Lydia's dog biting her, the birds crashing into the school? You remember the saying, bad things come in threes."

"So you think it hasn't finished, yet?"

"We're still waiting on a third," Katie said, opening the passenger side door. She paused, and then turned towards Stile. "Oi, where are we heading?"

Stiles, who had now finished on the phone, rolled down his window and leaned out. "Derek's old place," he answered.

"Why are we heading there?"

"That's where Scott is," Stiles answered. "He said something's up with Isaac, and Derek's taken him there."

Katie felt her heart sink, and guilt rise in her throat. She had been so busy with Aiden the night before, and worrying about the birds today, that she hadn't given a second thought to Isaac. It wasn't unusual for him to be so silent, and she knew that he was busy looking for Erica and Boyd with Derek and Peter to worry about the first day back at school, but she hadn't even bothered to contact him and see if there were any new leads on the last of his pack.

"Hey," said Jackson. "It's going to be OK. Come on,"

Still full of guilt, Katie climbed into the car beside her brother, fastened her seatbelt, and rested her head back against her seat as Jackson peeled out of the car park, and followed Stiles out of the school.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

"You don't still live here, do you?"

Derek stopped in his search and looked around. "No, the county took it over," he answered, shuffling pieces of wood aside, "but there's something here that I need. Something that can heal a wound from an Alpha."

"But it did heal," Scott said, motioning to the fact that Isaac was scarless.

"Not on the inside," Derek answered, shaking his head.

Scott frowned, and looked away from his classmate. He paused, his mind racing, but only one thought seemed to penetrate the thick cloud of questions. "Hey, are you going to tell me who that was back there?" he asked. "That alpha?"

"He's a part of a rival pack," Derek answered. "But it's my problem. I know you want to help, and you did, I owe you one. Now go home." He collected the last of the Wolfsbane flowers, and straightened up. "Go back to being a teenager."

Scott turned towards the door, and then stopped. His mind was again racing, and his hand touched his shoulder without thinking. "Derek, if you want to repay back the favour," he said, "there is something you can do for me."

"What do you need?" Derek asked, as the front door crashed open and three teenagers flooded into his house.

"Scott?"

"Stiles!"

"ISAAC!"

Spotting Isaac lying on the table covered in a hospital gown, sent Katie's heart into frenzy; having had bad personal experiences with hospitals, especially since her brother had died, she had been committed to one, and Stiles had been in one - rather recently - she could never take the sign of a hospital as good news.

"What happened?" Katie asked, looking up at Derek and Scott.

"He was attacked," Derek answered.

"By who?" Jackson asked, mildly surprised.

"An alpha."

"Is he going to be OK?" Stiles asked.

"As soon as we heal the wound, yes," Derek answered.

"Heal the wound? Why do you need to heal the wound?" Jackson asked. "Why isn't he healing himself?"

"The wound is superficial. It came from an alpha," Derek explained. "Which means it will heal on the outside, but not the inside."

"Have you healed him?" Katie asked.

"I just finished tending to it when you came bursting in," Derek answered. "Now all we can do is wait for him to regain consciousness."

Katie swallowed and looked back down at Isaac. She kissed his cheek, and then turned to look at the others. "What the hell is happening? Isaac's been attacked, and it seems the animals in Beacon Hills are going crazy."

"Only two incidents have occurred," Jackson said. "I'd hardly call that crazy. Maybe just a freak phenomenon."

"Well, until the third thing happens we'll go with that," said Stiles, "but if another animal-related incident does occur then we'll know it's something more."

Katie nodded and then looked to Scott as he removed his jacket and shirt. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Derek's going to help me with my tattoo," said Scott.

"I thought you were having it done last night?"

"It healed."

Katie couldn't help the smile or the small giggle that escaped her lips, and she only stopped as Scott shot her a look of disdain. "Sorry," she apologized. "But if it's healed once, what makes you think it won't heal again?"

"Because Derek's got the triskele on his back," Scott pointed out.

"Ah," Katie nodded, looking to the alpha. "How are you going to do it?"

"It's gonna be painful," said Derek. "Really painful. Like the worst possible pain that you'll ever feel."

"Oh, lovely," said Stiles.

Scott shrugged and sat down. "Do it," he said.

"Why is this so important to you?" Derek asked, curiously.

"Do you know what the word tattoo means?" Scott asked, looking distant.

"To mark something," Stiles answered, after Derek failed too.

"Well, that's one meaning," said Scott. "But in Samoan it means 'Open Wound.' I knew I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned eighteen. I've always wanted one. I just decided to get it now, to make it a kind of reward."

"Reward for what?" Katie asked.

"For not calling or texting Allison all summer," Scott answered.

"But you've seen her over the summer," Jackson frowned. "When the whole thing with Katie..."

"I think he means unless he had to," Katie said. "Otherwise he's lived up to his promise of not calling her."

Scott nodded. He couldn't deny that he had seen Allison at some points during the summer, but that was only because they were both friends with Katie, and had both wanted to help her during her ordeal. They couldn't avoid one another at that point, but outside of that he had proven true to his word and avoided her at all costs.

"Now it's four months later, and not being with her still hurts," Scott admitted. "It still feels like an..."

"Open wound," Stiles supplied.

Scott nodded solemnly.

"Good enough reason for me," said Katie, looking to Derek. The alpha nodded in agreement and picked up the blowtorch from beside him.

"Oh, god," said Stiles, edging his way around the two werewolves. "I'm just gonna wait outside."

"No," said Derek, grabbing the front of his shirt and holding him back. "I need you and Jackson to hold him down."

Katie flashed a glance at her brother, and watched as he shed his backpack and jacket, and moved towards Scott. He and Stiles grasped Scott's shoulders, and firmly pushed down, while Derek flared up the blow torch and put it to Scott's arm.

"Oh, god!" Katie squeaked, burying her face in Isaac's chests, and trying to block out Scott's screams of pain and anguish by covering her ears with her hands.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

The heat had been intense... and hot. But the end result had been worth it. Two beautiful black bands twisted around Scott's left bicep, but were soon covered as he lowered the sleeve of his shirt.

"Well, it's definitely permanent now," Stiles joked as they headed for the door.

"Yeah. We kinda need something permanent," said Scott. "Everything that has happened to us. I mean, everything just changes so fast. Everything just so... uh... ephemeral."

"Studying for the PSATs?" Stiles asked.

"Yep."

"Nice."

Jackson rolled his eyes and wrenched open the door. Derek had closed it before he had taken a blow torch to Scott's arm, not that it would've done much difference seeing as how loud Scott's screams and roars had been. Anyone within a 30 mile radius had probably heard them.

"You painted the door," Jackson said, noticing the new layer of red paint on the old worn layer. "Why'd you paint the door?"

Katie looked up from her position at Isaac's side. She had refused to leave him like the others had done, and insisted on staying with him until he woke up. Her guilt for not thinking about him all night and day was really playing on her nerves, and it was almost making her feel sick.

"Go home," Derek said, looking nervous. He glanced cautiously at Katie; she knew why he had painted the door. She had seen the symbol that lay beneath it, but had made her promise to not tell her brother, Stiles or Scott about it - he wasn't aware that she had told Allison, or that half of the stuff that had happened to hero ver the summer was because of the symbol.

Extending his nails, Scott scraped a layer of red paint flakes from the door, revealing a thick black line underneath.

"Scott!" Derek called, walking out to stop the teenager. But he was too late. Extending both sets of claws, Scott peeled the red paint away with ease, leaving the old worn paint and symbol for the three boys to see.

"The birds at school, Lydia's dog biting her," said Scott, listing all of the weird things that had been going on that day. "It's just like the night I got trampled by the deer... when I got bit by the alpha. How many are there?" he asked, looking Derek.

Derek sighed and glanced at Katie; she met his gaze and swallowed. "A pack of them," he answered. "An alpha pack."

"All of them?" Stiles asked, looking confused. "How is that even possible?"

"Because there's a leader," Katie answered. "His name's Deucalion."

"You knew about this," said Scott.

Katie nodded.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Jackson asked.

"I asked her not too," Derek answered. He didn't want Katie to get into trouble with her friends because of him.

"The only person I told was Allison," Katie admitted, "and that's because I had seen the symbol before, she was helping me figure out what it means."

"And did you?" Stiles asked.

Katie nodded. "Yes, but it left a lot more questions than it did answers," she explained. "Besides, it's not the symbol you should be worrying about, it's the pack. They've already got Boyd and Erica, there's nothing stopping them from coming for anyone else."

"Erica and Boyd weren't aware of them," said Jackson. "We are."

"That doesn't matter," Katie said. "They're a _pack_ of _alpha's_, Jackson, they are ten times more stronger and faster than a beta. You won't stand a chance if they come for you. I mean, look what they did to Isaac," she motioned her semi-conscious boyfriend.

"Then we need to find them before they have a chance to find us," said Scott.

"We're trying," Derek said. "Peter, Isaac and I have been searching for them."

"Say you find them. How do you deal with an alpha pack?" Scott asked.

"With all the help I can get," Derek answered.

Katie sighed and looked down as she felt a pressure on her right hand. Isaac's hand had started to move, curling around her's and lightly squeezing it as he awoke. His lips curved into a smile as Katie raised her gaze to meet his, and then slowly tried to sit up.

"Where is she?" Isaac asked, wincing from the pain in his abdomen. His voice caught Derek, Stiles, Scott and Jackson's attention, and caused all four to turn in the couple's direction.

"Who?" Katie asked.

"The girl," Isaac answered. "Where's the girl?"

* * *

**Copyrighted ©**

_**Twenty-Eight of you favourited/alerted this story and only four reviewed the first chapter. I really don't want to beg for reviews at the end of every chapter, but please guys, review?!**_

**Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx**

**Chapter updated Sunday, February 02, 2014 at 02:53am**


	3. Aiden Makes a Move

**I have spent the whole day trying to write an essay for my dissertation, and all I have been able to think about is updating this story. So, here is the start of episode 2, as you probably realized from the last two chapters I have decided that this season rewrite will be two chapters per episode. Which means the chapters will be longer than the ones from Make Me a Believer.**

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Wolf. This story is fan-made. I do however own Katie and Ashley Whittemore, and Sean Heartman.

**Dedications:** This chapter is dedicated to the following: **michelleisreal, demonppl, Supernaturalfan007, breForeverYoung, melissa2005, Sarakk** and **For-your-smile.**

**Author's Note:** This is not where my Teen Wolf story starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost. I suggest you read my stories in order:

**Finding an Anchor - Ohana - Make Me a Believer - Possessions - Luna - There's No Place Like Home - Natural Born Survivor.**

* * *

**Title:** The Hunt is On

**Summary: **With the alpha pack establishing their territory, the Beacon Hills werewolves find themselves up against another threat in the form of a Dark Druid. Blood will be shed, and choices made as Katie decides on who her heart desires most.

* * *

"It could be nothing."

"True. But it could be something, too."

Lydia sighed and withdrew her arm from the console separating Katie and Allison, the two brunette's were sitting at the front of the car with Allison at the wheel, and Katie sitting beside her tracing the bruises on Lydia's arm with a pen. Looking down at her forearm, Lydia shook her head at the squiggles, they looked like tentacles to her.

"It's a pattern," said Allison, "it's got to mean something."

"You really think Scott's going to know what it is?" Lydia asked, skeptically.

"Yeah, he's not exactly the brightest of wolves in Beacon Hills," Katie agreed, capping her pen and stuffing it into the glove compartment.

"If Scott doesn't know what it means, I'm pretty sure he knows somebody who does," Allison answered.

"You mean Deaton?" Katie asked. "I know him too, you know."

"How are you so sure that it means anything at all?" Lydia asked.

"Because that girl wasn't just looking for Scott. It's like she needed to find him, like she had too, and that means something."

"Like life and death, had too?" Katie asked.

Allison nodded.

Katie bit her lower lip and exchanged a look with Lydia. The two girls' had been civil towards each other since Katie's traumatic experience a few weeks ago; Lydia had been more sympathetic to the whole ordeal, and Katie was also trying to accept the red head as a friend, rather than an enemy.

"OK. So, where is Scott?" Lydia asked.

"Well, I can tell you that they aren't at home," said Katie, noticing that Allison was heading towards Scott's street. "Stiles text me earlier and said that he and Scott were heading to some party on the otherside of Beacon Hills."

"Why did he tell you?" Lydia asked, curiously.

Katie shrugged. "Maybe because he and I are supposed to be working on our English essay together," she said. "Don't ask me why he isn't working with Scott, I don't know. But he just messaged me to say that he couldn't make it tonight due to his childhood friend's birthday."

"Uh," Lydia nodded. "So where does this 'childhood friend' live?"

"Otherside of town," Katie answered. "Have you tried calling Scott?"

"He's not answering," Allison replied, turning the car around.

"You want me to try?" Katie asked.

Allison nodded and tossed the smaller brunette her phone. "If he doesn't answer this time, just give him a quick text and tell him to meet us outside," she said.

"Tell him it's urgent," Lydia added.

Katie nodded and quickly scrolled Allison's contact for Scott's name.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

"That's it," said Katie, pointing at a two story house with a big garden and plain white wooden door. The numbers 138 were embroided in gold numbers on the lip of the trough lining the pebbled roof.

"How do you know?" Lydia asked, as Allison pulled over the car.

"Scott messaged me the address," Katie answered, showing Lydia the text on Allison's phone. "He also said he'd meet us outside."

"Trust him to forget the minor detail," Lydia muttered sliding out of the car. Allison squeezed the wheel, and Katie smiled at her.

"You can do this," Katie assured. "Lydia and I'll be right there beside you."

Allison smiled, and nodded. "Thanks," she said.

"No problem."

"Are you two coming?" Lydia asked, sticking her head back inside the car. "It's freezing out here."

Allison and Katie chuckled, and got out of their respective sides, just as the front door to the house opened and Scott stepped outside. He frowned at the sight of the three girls'. He already knew Katie was with Allison, she had to be if he was recieving texts from her on Allison's phone, but Katie hadn't mentioned Lydia.

"This isn't the talk we were going to have, is it?" Scott asked, directing the question at his ex-girlfriend.

Allison shook her head silently.

Katie grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed her, reassuringly, before looking at Scott. "There's something you need to know," she said. "Yesterday, after the bird incident at school, a woman found Allison and Lydia on school grounds. She was looking for you."

"Me?" Scott repeated. "Why?"

"We don't know," said Lydia. "But, well, we don't know what happened exactly, but the two new twins, Ethan and Aidan, showed up at the end of the hall, and it seemed to terrify her, she grabbed both our arms and left this imprint."

Lydia rolled up her sleeve, and held out her arm to show Scott the emboldened tentacle. Allison did the same, lining her arm next to Lydia's to show that they were an identical match on each side.

"What does it mean?" Scott asked, staring at the bruise in confusion.

"We were actually hoping you would know," Katie sighed. "Or at least know someone who does."

Scott frowned. "You mean Deaton?" he asked. "Well, you know him too."

"That's what I said," Katie nodded. "But we were actually thinking more along the lines of Derek."

"Derek?" Scott repeated. "Why would - I mean, how would he know?"

"He's the alpha now, isn't he?" Katie asked. "He's bound to know something. Can't you just ask him to come check?"

"He won't think it's anything," Scott said.

Katie shrugged. "It's better to be safe than sorry, right?" she asked.

Scott sighed, and lightly shook his head from side to side. "I can try and get him to come to the school tomorrow," he said.

"Time and place," said Allison, withdrawing her arm and pulling her sleeve back down to her wrist. Lydia did the same.

"Lunch hour," said Scott. "Computer lab."

The three girls' exchanged looks, and nodded.

"OK," said Lydia. "Tomorrow it is."

"OK," said Scott, looking at Allison. He really wanted to talk to her, but he could tell that right now was a bad time.

Sensing the awkwardness of the situation, Katie tugged at Allison arm, and led her back to the car. "Come on," she said. "I gotta get home before my parents find out i'm gone. They're gonna kill me if they do."

"Why are you still on lockdown?" Allison asked.

"Because Blake may be dead," Katie answered, getting back into the passenger seat, "but his friends are still out there, and if that Ryan kid is anything to go by, they seem pretty peeved that he's dead."

"But you didn't kill him," said Lydia.

Katie shrugged and nodded. "I know," she answered. "But they don't know who did, and quite honestly, I don't think they care. All they know is that Blake died instead of me, and they're not happy about that. My parents don't want to risk them finishing what Blake started."

"Then we best get you home," said Allison, buckling up and starting the car.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

The next morning, having recovered from his attack by the Alpha pack, and his visit to the hospital, Isaac paced back and forth in front of the overly large glass paneled windows of Derek's new industrial loft - it beat living in an abandoned train factory - so he wasn't complaining.

"You know, i'm starting not to like this idea," he said, clenching his hands into fists. "It sounds kinda dangerous. You know what, I definitely don't like this idea, and I definitely don't like him," he added, turning on a dime.

"Relax," said Derek. "You'll be fine."

"Does it have to be him?"

"He knows how to do it, I don't. It'd be more dangerous if I tried doing it myself."

Isaac sighed and walked back towards the table. "You know Scott doesn't trust him, right?" he asked. "Now, personally, I trust Scott."

"Do you trust me?" Derek asked.

"Yeah," Isaac nodded. How could he not? Derek was his Alpha. "But I still don't like him."

"Nobody likes him," Derek agreed.

Isaac smiled faintly as the door to the loft slid open, and Peter Hale walked inside.

"Boys," he said, surveying his nephew and pack mate, "FYI; yes coming back from the dead has left my abilities somewhat impaired, but the hearing still works. So, I hope you're comfortable saying, whatever it is you're saying straight to my face."

Derek rolled his eyes, and slammed shut the book he had been trying to read. "We don't like you," he said, tossing the book onto the table with a heavy thud, "now shut up and help us."

Peter smirked, looked at Isaac, and then at Isaac. "Fair enough," he said, flexing his fingers, and releasing his claws.

Isaac stared at them, his heart hammering painfully against his chest.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Derek checked his phone as Isaac sat on a four-legged chair in the middle of the loft, while Peter stalked around him. There were two new messaged, and three missed calls from Scott asking for him to meet him at the school around 12. There was something he needed to see, and it may help him to find Erica and Boyd.

Skeptical at what the young Beta had found, Derek had messaged back saying he would be there.

"Relax," said Peter, "I'll get more out of you if you're calm."

"How do you know to do this again?" Isaac asked, nervously.

"It's an ancient ritual used mostly by Alpha's," Peter explained, "since it's a skill that requires quite a bit of practice. One slip and you can paralyze someone... or kill them."

"Y-you've had a lot of practice, right?" Isaac asked, now really nervous. He didn't want to die. He valued his life, and everything in it, he didn't feel like giving that up for a simple hidden memory.

"Well, I've never paralyzed anyone," Peter answered, his claws skimming across Isaac's neck.

"Wait, does that mean that you -" Isaac cut off as Peter dug his claws into his neck. He withered around on the chair, fighting against the older Beta, trying to release himself from his old. Peter grabbed Isaac around the chest, and pulled him back against the chair, preventing him from escaping.

Breathing shallower than normal, Peter's eyes flashed their usual Beta blue, as memories flashed across his mind eye. He saw everything Isaac had done in his life, childhood moments, moments before he had become a werewolf, even intimate moments with the human girl, Katie. But there was one, one that stood out to the beta, a moment that was surrounded by a fuzzy blue haze.

He couldn't see much, but he could hear just fine. He could hear Boyd's voice, hear shuffling of feet. He could hear snarls from wolves, and then the voice of Deucalion.

Pulling himself away from Isaac, Peter stumbled as the memories faded, and his eyes dimmed back to normal. Isaac hunched over in his seat, his hand reached behind his head to touch his neck. The wound that Peter had inflicted was already healing.

"What did you see?" Derek asked.

"Uh... it was confusing," Peter breathed, "images... uh vague... shapes."

"But you saw something," Derek insisted.

"Isaac found them," Peter nodded.

"Erica and Boyd?"

"I-I... I barely saw them," Peter stammered.

"But you did _see_ them!" Derek insisted.

"And worse..."

"Deucalion."

"He was talking to them," said Peter, "something about... time running out."

"What does it mean?" Isaac asked, looking to Derek.

Derek didn't answer at first, merely wrung his hands together and looked up at his Uncle. "He's going to kill them," he finally said.

"No, no, no, no, he didn't say that," said Peter, shaking his head. "He did make them a promise thought, that by the full moon they'd both be dead."

"The _next_ full moon?" Derek asked, dread pooling in his stomach.

Peter sighed, and rolled his head in his nephew's direction. "Tomorrow night," he confirmed.

Derek sighed, and hung his head.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Katie sat alone in the library, pouring over her books, papers and laptop, when she felt a second presence sit down opposite her. She lifted her gaze for a fraction of a second, and sighed as Aiden came into view.

"Why am I not surprised?" she asked.

"Nice to see you too," Aiden replied. "I would ask why you're alone, and not with your friends, but then I remember that you work better alone."

"And yet you saw fit to interrupt me."

Aiden smirked, and leaned forward. "I was wondering maybe I could help," he said. "You know, like I used too."

"Oh, mean by disregarding my work, and screaming for you instead?" Katie asked, trying to fight back a smile.

"You were pretty vocal," Aiden teased.

Katie felt her face warm, and she dropped her gaze back to her work. "Not the conversation we should be having in a library, Aiden," she said. "Besides, as you've already noticed, I'm busy."

"You're a straight A student, Katie," Aiden said. "You always have been. I'm pretty sure 'busy' isn't in your vocabulary."

"What are you doing here?" Katie asked.

"Like I said, I want to help you."

"I don't mean here at the library," said Katie, "I mean _here_ at school. You hated school back in England, why would you even care about enrolling at Beacon Hills?"

"Would you believe me if I said I did it to be closer to you?" Aiden asked.

Katie rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "No," she answered. "Now what's the real reason, and for once in your life, try the truth."

"Fine," said Aiden, trying to keep his cool. Her attitude towards him had changed since he had saved her from Blake, and while that may have deterred any other guy, it didn't him. He had a very good idea has to why she was being hostile. "We're looking for someone."

"We?" Katie asked.

Aiden leaned closer so that only she would be able to hear him. "We, as in the Alpha pack," he explained. "One of your friends is important in the upcoming battle -"

"So you admit there's gonna be a battle?"

"Yeah, not necessarily against you," said Aiden, "but you may have to choose a side."

"I've already chosen."

"Lahey?"

Katie shook her head. "Isaac and I may have a relationship," she said, "but that doesn't mean I've chosen his side. In all honesty, I choose Scott."

Aiden smirked. "You always did know how to make things complicated," he said, as the bell rung loud and clear signaling the end of lunch period.

Closing her laptop, and stuffing her papers back into her binder, Katie stood up, shouldered her bag and grabbed her stuff from the table. She was about to pick up laptop when Aiden picked it up instead.

"Aiden," Katie sighed, holding her hand out for the device.

"What do you have now?" he asked.

"I'm not kidding, Aiden, hand it over," said Katie.

"Humor me," Aiden smiled. "What class do you have?"

"Econ."

Aiden smirked. "You mind if I walk with you?" he asked.

"Would it matter if I said yes?"

"Not really," said Aiden, "considering we're both heading in the same direction. Unless you want it to look like i'm stalking you."

Katie shivered at his choice of words, and glared at him.

Realizing his mistake, Aiden heaved a sigh and pushed open the door to the library, allowing her to brush past him into the main hall. "Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean..."

"I know," Katie nodded. "If I let you walk me to class, will you shut up?"

"That depends," said Aiden.

"On?"

"If you'll let me see you... tonight?"

"Like a date?"

"If you want to put a label on it, then sure, why not?" Aiden shrugged.

Katie rolled her eyes. "I have a boyfriend," she said.

"Actually, right now, you have a boy who's a friend," said Aiden, "and don't try denying it. We both know that you and Isaac have been on rocky roads since your whole... ordeal."

"That's not the point," said Katie, "Isaac still cares about me, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about him."

"What about me?" Aiden asked. "Do you still care about me?"

Katie bit her tongue, and looked up at him. She wanted to say no, but found that she couldn't. "Yes," she admitted, in a quiet voice. "Yes, I still care about you."

"So tonight then?" Aiden pressed.

"I don't know," said Katie, "and not just because of me and Isaac, but i'm not entirely sure if I'm free tonight. I might have something going on."

Aiden didn't say anything in return, instead he handed her back her laptop, and pushed open the door to economy. Katie walked in ahead of him; and took her seat behind Scott, and alongside Jackson, with Aiden taking the empty seat beside his own brother.

"What were you doing with _him_?" Jackson asked, leaning forward in his seat so that only Katie could hear him.

But before Katie could reply, Coach entered the room and slammed a text book down on the desk to get everyone's attention. "The stock market is based on two principles," he said, "what are they?"

Scott raised his hand, much to everyone surprise. "Yes, McCall, you can go to the bathroom," said Coach, dismissively. "Anybody else?"

"Uh, no, Coach, I know the answer," said Scott.

Coach drew in a breath, and started to laugh. When he saw Scott wasn't laughing, he stared in disbelief. "Oh, you're serious?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's risk and reward," Scott answered.

"Wow, who are you?" Coach asked, stalking forward, "and what have you done with McCall? Don't answer that. I like you better. I like you better," he looked up at the rest of the class, and added, "does anybody have a quarter."

Digging into his pocket, Stiles held up a small silver coin, but also pulled a XXL condom from the night before out too. Silence fell as everyone stared at the package, which had landed on the floor at Coach's feet, while Stiles felt his face grow warm in humiliation.

"Stilinski, I think you, uh, dropped this," said Coach, picking up the package and handing it back. "Congratulations," he added, taking the quarter.

Scott grinned at his best friend, while Katie and Jackson exchanged looks, both chuckling at Stiles' untimely misfortune.

"Risk and reward," Coach continued, his back turned to his students. He lifted his mug from the desk and turned back to the class, "put the quarter in the mug, and win the reward." He put the mug on the floor and stepped back. "Now, watch Coach," he lined the coin up, and the tossed it. The quarter bounced against the tiled floor, sailed up into the air, and landed with a clatter in the china mug.

The class clapped in approval.

"OK. Danny," said Coach, tossing the coin at his student. "Risk or Reward?"

"What's the reward?" Danny asked.

"You don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow," said Coach.

"Coach, it's not a pop quiz if you tell us about it," Danny replied.

"Danny, you know I really expect more from you at this point," said Coach, taking the quarter from him, and passing it to Scott instead. "McCall, risk, reward. The risk, if you don't put that quarter in the mug, you have to take the pop... the quiz, and you have to write an essay. Risk: more work. Reward: no work at all, or choose not to play."

"But isn't this just chance?" Scott asked.

"No, you know your abilities, your co-ordination, you focus, past experience," said Coach. "All factors affecting the outcome. So what's it gonna be, McCall? More work, No work or choose not to play?"

Scott stared at the coin in consideration, and then put it down on top of his text book.

"No play," Coach nodded, swiping up the coin again. "OK. Who's next? Who wants the quarter?"

Stiles drummed his hands on his book, and got to his feet.

"There you go," said Coach, energetically. "There's a gambling man. Come on," he passed Stiles the quarter, and followed him to the front of the class. "Alright, Stilinski."

Katie looked up as the door opened, and her heart dropped as she saw Stiles' father step inside wearing a solemn expression. Turning her head to the side, Katie caught Jackson's eye, as Scott swiveled around in his seat, looking equally worried.

"Stiles," said the Sheriff.

"Yeah, I got it, Coach," Stiles replied, clearly not paying attention.

"Stiles," the Sheriff said again.

Stiles paused and looked up, his face dropping at the sight of his father. His heart hammered painfully in his chest, as he thought about the night before and how Heather had just disappeared from her house during her own birthday party.

"We need to talk."

* * *

**Copyrighted ©**

_**Hey, guys, how about a little interaction here? Writing is a two-way deal. I write, you review. You review, I write... see the cycle? So, if you want me to write/update more then you see that white box at the bottom of this chapter, it has the words 'Type your review for this chapter here...' written inside it. Well, do has it says and tell me what you think. Tell me if you didn't like a certain aspect of what I am writing, tell me if there is a certain character(s) you want to see more... I know a few of you from Make Me a Believer wanted more Derek/Katie scenes.**_

_**So please REVIEW... and if you're afraid to review, please don't be, i'm a very friendly, and polite person. I don't bite. :D**_

**Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx**

**Chapter updated Friday, February 07, 2014 at 2:25am**


	4. More Questions than Answers

**Three reviews. It's better than one, but come on, guys, show me some love. I'm putting off important Uni work for this. Tell me what you want to see and I'll do my best to incorporate it into my new plot line.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Teen Wolf. This story is fan made. I do however own Katie and Ashley Whittemore, and Sean Heartman.

**Dedications:** This chapter is dedicated to the following: **Savannahchunt, CourtneyxWolf725, Rissa7896, This moment is stardust, Rec0nteur, applegirl08 Crazychic94, TVDobsessesion106, slytherinninja** and** Binks13.**

**Author's Note:** This is not where my Teen Wolf series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost. I suggest you read my stories in order:

**Finding an Anchor - Ohana - Make Me a Believer - Possessions - Luna - There's No Place Like Home - Natural Born Survivor.**

* * *

**Title:** The Hunt is On

**Summary:** With the alpha pack establishing their territory, the Beacon Hills werewolves find themselves up against another threat in the form of a Dark Druid. Blood will be shed, and choices made as Katie decides on who her heart desires most.

* * *

Katie sat on a metal table watching Scott, Stiles, Jackson and Derek empty several bags of ice cubes into a metal bathtub full of water.

"Obviously it's not going to be particularly... comfortable," Deaton said from the door. He was standing with Isaac. "But if we can slow your heart rate down enough you will slip into a trance-like state."

"Like being hypnotized?" Isaac asked.

"Exactly. You'll be half transformed. It will allow us to access you subconscious mind."

"How slow does his heart rate have to be?" Scott asked, slightly concerned.

"Very slow," Deaton answered.

"How slow is very slow?" Derek asked.

"Nearly dead."

Katie's eyes widened as she looked at her old friend. "It is safe... right?" she asked.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?" Deaton asked.

Katie exchanged a look with her friends, and then shook her head. "No, not really," she murmured.

"Look, if it feels too risky, then you don't have to do it," Derek said, sensing the anxiety inside his beta.

Isaac glanced at his beta, and then around at the others, his gaze lingered on Katie as she stared back at him, her lower lip caught between her teeth. Shaking his head of all thoughts, Isaac pulled his shirt over his head, and climbed into the tub.

"Oh, god..." Isaac gasped as the cold water lapped at his skin, causing goosebumps to spread rapidly. He took several deep breaths as Derek and Scott placed their hands on his shoulders, and then pushed him beneath the surface.

Katie countered the minutes before Isaac burst forth, his eyes glowed molten amber, and a roar rumbled from his chest.

"Get it him back under," Deaton ordered.

Scott and Derek, with the help of Stiles and Jackson, forced Isaac back under the water. He struggled relentlessly, gripping onto the side of the tub in an effort to get out.

"Hold him," Deaton said.

"We're trying!" Derek growled.

Soon the struggling stopped and Isaac floated to the surface, his eyes were closed, but he exhaled a low breath as he broke the surface again.

Deaton held up a hand to silence the others. "Now remember, only I talk to him," he said in a low voice. "Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out. Isaac, can you hear me?" he added to the blonde beta.

"Y-Yes," Isaac replied.

"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that alright?"

"Yes."

"I want to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd," Deaton continued. I want you to remember it in as vivid detail as possible. Like you're actually there again."

"No," Isaac said, starting to squirm. "I don't want to do that... I don't want to do that."

Thunder and lightning crashed outside the windows, and the lights around the clinic started to flicker.

"They're just memories," Deaton said, assuringly. "You can't be hurt by a memory."

"I don't want to do that!"

"It's alright."

Isaac seized the side of the bathtub, his knuckles turning white and bending the metal under the pressure of Isaac's hands. "I don't... _I don't want to do that_!"

"Shh, Isaac, it's OK. They're only memories."

"The lights stopped flickering, and Isaac stilled in the frozen waters.

"Good," Deaton said. "Now, let's go back to that night. To the place you found Erica and Boyd. Can you tell me what you see? Is there some kind of building? House?"

"It's not a house, it's... uh... stone," Isaac answered, his face contorting in remembrance. "Like marble."

"Perfect. Can you give me any other descriptors?" Deaton asked.

"It's dusty. Empty."

"Like an abandoned building?"

"Someone's here," Isaac panicked, as Jackson seized his forearm.

"Isaac, relaxed," Deaton soothed.

"No, no, they've seen me... they've seen me!" Isaac screamed, thrashing around and spilling water all over the floor.

"They're just memories," said Deaton, "you can't be hurt by a memory. Just relax. Now tell us what you saw. Tell us everything."

"I hear Boyd... he's talking about the full moon, about being out of control when the moon rises," Isaac explained.

"Is he talking to Erica?" Deaton asked.

"I-I think so. I can't see her. I c-can't... I can't see either of them."

"Can you see anything else?"

"They're worried. Worried what they'll do during the moon. They're worried that they're going to hurt each other."

Derek sighed, and shook his head. "If they're locked in together during the full moon, they're gonna tear each other a part," he explained in a low voice.

"Isaac, we need to find them right now," Deaton said urgency in his voice. "Can you see them?"

"No."

"Do you know what kind of room it is? Is there a kind of marker? A number on a door? A sign?"

"They're here," Isaac whispered as the lights again started to flicker rapidly. "They're here... they're here."

"It's alright," Deaton said, calmly.

"No! No!"

"Just tell us..."

"They've seen me... they've found me! He found me! HE'S HERE!"

Katie frowned and looked across at Stiles, as Derek shook his head at Deaton.

"This isn't working," he said. "Isaac, where are you? Tell me where you are?!"

"No! He'll go into shock!" Deaton said, urging Derek to stop.

"Isaac, where are you?!" Derek demanded, as the lights continued to flicker. A few even exploded as the electrical pulse shorted them from the inside. "Tell me where you are!"

"Derek, let him go!" Scott growled.

"ISAAC, WHERE ARE YOU?! WHAT DID YOU SEE?!" Derek shouted.

"It's a vault. It's a bank vault," Isaac yelled, snapping back to reality. "I saw it. I saw the name..." he said, looking up at his friends. Quickly he climbed out of the tub, and Deaton draped a towel around his shoulders. "its Beacon Hills first National Bank. It's an abandoned bank, and they're keeping them... locked inside one of the vaults."

Stiles and Katie anxious glances, as Isaac frowned at them. He had just told them where Erica and Boyd where, so why didn't they look pleased?

"What?" he asked, noticing that Scott, Derek and Jackson each looked just as anxious.

"You don't remember what you said right before you came out of it, do you?" Stiles asked.

"No," said Isaac. "Why, what did I say?"

"You said when they captured you, they dragged you into a room, and that there was a body in there," said Katie.

"What body?"

Katie sighed, and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Erica," she answered. "you said it was Erica."

"But there has to be a mistake," said Derek.

"Derek, he said there's a dead body, its Erica," said Stiles. "Doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation."

"Then who's in the vault with Boyd?" Derek asked.

"Obviously it has to be someone else," said Scott. "What about the girl that saved Isaac?"

Isaac shook his head. "No, she wasn't like us," he explained, "and whoever's in the vault with Boyd was."

"What if that's like how Erica died?" Stiles asked. "They pit them against each other during the Full Moon, and sees which one survives?"

"Then we get them out tonight," Derek urged.

"How?" Jackson asked.

"You have to be smart about this, Derek," Deaton said from the otherside of the room. "You can't just go storming in."

"If Isaac got in then so can we."

"Yeah, but he didn't have to go through a vault door," Katie pointed out. "You need a plan. A foolproof one."

Derek growled, and turned to the brunette. "How are we going to come up with a plan to break into a bank vault in less than 24 hours?" he asked.

Jackson quickly put himself between Derek and his sister. He didn't care if the older wolf was an alpha, no one threatened his sister.

"I think somebody already did," said Stiles, checking his phone and trying to diffuse the situation. "'Beacon Hills first National closes doors three months after vault robbery.' It doesn't say here how it was robbed, but it probably won't take too long to find out."

"It's the internet, Derek," Stiles scoffed. "Minutes."

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Katie yawned and stretched herself out on the bed. All around her were piles of papers, books, and her laptop teetered dangerously on the bottom edge.

"Hey, wait a minute," she said, rubbing her eyes as she recognized the picture on the screen. "That's the same as the bruise on Allison's and Lydia's arms."

"Are you sure?" Stiles' asked, scrambling up the side of the bed to inspect the laptop. He hadn't seen the picture himself, so he couldn't be exactly sure.

"Yeah - here, hang on," said Katie, reaching into the discarded jacket on the floor. She fished her cellphone from its pocket, and scrolled through her picture. She had taken a snapshot of the bruises just in case she came across it somewhere. "Look..." she shoved the phone into Stiles' hands.

Stiles examined both the phone and the laptop, and nodded. "Yeah, they're identical," he agreed. "Print it."

Katie nodded, and hit print. The printer across the room whirled to life, and started sprouting out papers. Scott, who was sitting alongside the printer, on Stiles' desktop computer, grabbed the handful of papers and passed them to Stiles who was setting up an idea board. He attached a string of red to the image, and unraveled the ball of yarn, linking the image up with the picture of the bank.

"What does red mean?" Katie asked.

"Unsolved," Stiles answered.

"Yellow?"

"New information."

"Blue?"

"It just looks pretty," Stiles said. "You look tired," he added, looking up at her. "Why don't you get some sleep, Scott and I can keep looking."

Katie shook her head, and lowered it onto her arm as she watched him work. "Nah, i'm OK," she said, forcing her eyes to stay open. "Do you have any coffee?"

"There should be some downstairs," said Stiles. "Want me to go get you some?"

"I can get it," Katie said. "Want some?"

"Thanks."

"Scott?"

"Nah, i'm good," Scott said, shaking himself awake. He straightened up in his chair, blinked, and continued searching.

Katie nodded and hurried off downstairs. She found the coffee pot on the side, in the kitchen, and was in the middle of brewing a fresh pot, and searching for some cups, when a sound of creaking caught her attention.

Terrified, Katie braced herself against the counter and carefully reached into the draw in front of her, withdrawing a carving knife. After what Blake had put her through, Katie still felt vulnerable, and she had asked Allison to teach her a few basic skills. Not enough where she'd become a fully-fledged hunter, but just enough so she didn't have to feel like the damsel in distress, and depend on the others to rescue her every time there was trouble.

Holding onto the handle of the knife tightly, Katie exhaled and, spinning around, raised the knife above her head, but another hand, one much larger than her own caught hold her wrist, knocking the blade from her hand.

Instinctively, Katie screamed.

The sound of crashes echoed loudly from upstairs, and next second Katie felt the intruder's grip on her disappear. There was scuffle, followed by a growl and a yelp, before the lights flickered to life and Stiles stood in the doorway surveying the scene.

Near the fridge was Scott, he was standing over a figure which was cowering in the corner; upon closer inspection Stiles could see that it was Isaac. He was curious as to why the blond beta was here, after the whole process at the clinic; Derek had taken him back to the loft to rest and heal.

"What's going on?" Stiles asked.

"Check on her," Scott said, pointing at Katie.

Katie was practically clinging to the counter, her face was wet with tears, and she was shaking uncontrollably. Instantly, Stiles was at her side, he tried to wrap his arms around her but she screamed and pushed him away, begging him not to hurt her.

"Katie, it's OK," Stiles assured. "You're OK. It's me: Stiles..."

Curling herself into a ball, Katie wrapped her arms around her knees and started to rock back and forth. "Please," she begged, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please don't... I'll be good... I promise, I'll be good... just d-don't do it again... please... it hurts."

"Katie, you're OK. You're having a flashback," Stiles said while maintaining his distance. He glanced at Scott, and sighed. Allison had warned them about relapses. Since her attack, Katie was prone to panic attacks linked to her assault, and often endured flashbacks.

Backing herself into a corner, Katie rocked back and forth, still begging him to not hurt her. At first it seemed that she hadn't heard him, but then her breathing started to slow, and she looked up at him. Fear reflected in her eyes, and she was still shaking.

"Stiles?" Katie whispered.

"Yeah. It's OK," Stiles said, sliding closer, but also keeping away. He slowly reached out to touch her hand, and felt her flinch, but she didn't pull away from him. "You're OK. I'm not going to hurt you. I know it feels real to you, but what you're seeing is not really happening. You're not there; you're here with me, Scott and Isaac. You're -"

"He said I deserved it," Katie whispered. "He said that he never loved me, and that I deserved everything Blake did to me."

"Who?"

"Isaac," Katie said.

Stiles glanced across at Scott and Isaac. They had heard this before, and had already convinced Katie that she had been drugged and was hallucinating that Isaac was saying these things to her, but it seemed that the hallucination was something that was vivid to Katie, and seemed to be causing her great emotional trauma.

It would've explained why Katie had been rather distant of the blond beta the past couple of weeks.

"What did you do?" Scott asked.

"She came at me with a knife," said Isaac, "I was just defending myself."

"But what did you do _exactly_?" Scott asked.

"I grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the side," Isaac answered. "I didn't mean to trigger anything."

Scott sighed. He believed Isaac. The blond beta's heart didn't skip or jump when he had explained what had happened, and that was enough for Scott to know that Isaac hadn't meant to hurt or scare Katie, but the fact remained that he had, and now they had to deal with it.

"You should go," Stiles said. He had managed to get Katie into his arms, and was holding her close to his chest. She was still sobbing and shaking, but she was no longer begging them to leave her be.

"What? No. I came to see her," said Isaac. "I need to talk to her about... about Aiden."

Scott shook his head. "I don't think now is the best time, Isaac," he said. "I mean, look at her, you're not going to get anything out of her now. She's scared to death. We know you didn't mean too, but I think you've done more harm than good. Just give Katie her space, when she's ready, she'll come to you."

Realizing he wasn't going to get his time alone with Katie, Isaac sighed and pushed himself back to his feet. "Let her know that I'm sorry," he said to Stiles. "I didn't mean... I didn't want..."

"We know," Scott said, patting his shoulder. "We'll make sure she does too."

Isaac nodded and, with one final glance at shell of the girl he once knew, he left the house. Scott listened to him walking away; the heavy thudding of his heart caused the beta to sigh, and turn back to Stiles.

"Is she gonna be OK?" Scott asked. "Do you want me to do anything?"

"There should be medication in her bag," said Stiles, "something she'd take daily."

"She's already taken Prozac," Scott pointed out, reminding his friend that Katie had taken two antidepressants before they had started their research.

Stiles tried to stand. "Help me get her upstairs," he said.

Carefully, Scott helped Stiles stand and followed him back up to his room. Katie was clinging to him for near death, her hands gripping his shirt as if he was the only protection she had from whatever she was seeing inside her head.

"Shh, you're OK," Stiles said, clearing his bed of all the books Katie had been using, and set the brunette in his arms down. He eased himself out of her hold, and rifled through her school bag. He found two pill bottles, one with the words _Prozac_ on the label, and another with the name _Zoloft_.

"What are 'Zoloft'?" Scott asked. He had heard the name being mentioned before, mostly by his mother, but never had he asked for an explanation as to what they were used for.

Stiles opened the pill bottle and shook out a small pill. "They're a sedative," he answered. "It'll help her sleep."

"For how long?"

"Roughly four hours. Can you get me a glass of water from the bathroom?"

Scott nodded and disappeared, leaving Stiles with Katie. The brunette and curled up into a ball, and was staring into space.

"Hey, Katie, look at me," Stiles coaxed. "You're going to be OK, alright? You just need to take this." He pressed the pill into the palm of her hand. "It'll make you feel better."

"You'll stay?" Katie asked.

"I'm not going to anywhere," Stiles promised. "Scott's here too. Blake can't hurt you anymore. Remember what Deaton said? They're only memories; you can't be hurt by a memory."

Katie nodded and sat up carefully once Scott had returned, he handed her the glass of water and she took the pill Stiles had given her. Instantly she felt drowsy, Scott took the glass of water back from her, and watched as she lay down. Stiles grabbed a blanket from inside the closet and draped it over her, as her eyes slid shut.

She looked peaceful when sleeping.

"Should we call Jackson, or maybe her parents?" Scott asked.

"No. Just let her sleep," said Stiles. "If she wakes up in a different surrounding to what she went to sleep in, she might freak out again."

Scott nodded, that sounded logical.

"How did you know how to do that?" he asked his best friend.

"My mom," Stiles answered. "It was scary to watch her go through these different attacks, but I learned to adapt."

"It's not a good thing that you had to go through it with your mom," said Scott, "but you it really helped with Katie."

Stiles smiled and nodded. "A memory may not be able to hurt you," he said, "but you can definitely hurt yourself during a flashback. She's lucky we were here. It could've been a lot worse."

"I'll take your word for it," said Scott, drifting back to the computer. He upturned the chair, and sat down, while Stiles grabbed Katie's laptop and sat at the bottom of the bed, using it as resting post to finish the research she had been doing.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Papa Stilinski paused on the threshold of his son's door as he took in the sight before him.

Scott was flat out on the curved computer chair, his head rolling at an awkward angle onto his shoulder; Stiles was on the floor behind his bed, his back arched into the air, and his face smushed up against the numerous amounts of paper that littered the floor, while Katie Whittemore was scrunched into a ball at the top of the bed.

The Sheriff run a hand over his face, and leaned against the doorframe. "Kids," he called, hoping to stir them from their sleep. He hadn't known that Katie and Scott were spending the night, if he had he would've surely put his foot down and said no seeing as it was a school night, but they had just said they were working on a school project and would be heading home as soon as they had finished, he hadn't given it a second though the previous evening and headed into work to cover his late shift.

"Kids," the Sheriff called again, "time to wake up."

There was no response from the three sleeping teenagers.

"Kids!"

Upon his third yell the three teenagers gasped and bolted awake. Katie squeaked as she jolted, and kicked on the books off of the side; it hit the floor with a loud thud, missing Stiles' foot by mere inches. The boy in question looked to where the book and landed and then up at the petite brunette.

"Sorry," Katie apologized, scrambling over the side to retrieve her book.

Even Scott, who had been startled, had to grip onto the desk as his chair rolled out from underneath him and he landed on his butt with a hard thud. The three of them paused, as if finally noticing that there was another presence in the room. They looked up and smiled sheepishly at the Sheriff.

"Hey, Dad," Stiles grinned.

"I got to get to work," said Stilinski. "You three get to school."

He turned to leave, but stopped when his son called him back, and asked about Heather. The sheriff shook his head, indicating that there were no new leads or evidence to indicate that Heather had been found.

Stiles sighed and lowered his head, as his father left.

Katie rolled over onto her stomach, her body now facing the bottom of Stiles' bed, and placed her hand over his. She smiled as he looked up at her, a small smile replacing his worried expression.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Stiles asked.

"I've had worse mornings," Katie said. "Thank you, by the way. You helped ground me last night. I appreciate it."

Stiles nodded and pushed himself back to his feet. He looked at the piece of paper that he had pulled from his face, and threw it onto the bed. "Ten hours and nothing," he sighed.

"We're going to find something," said Scott.

"Yeah, well finding something doesn't make Erica any less dead, OK? Or Boyd any less about to be dead."

Katie frowned and grabbed the paper that Stiles had just tossed onto the bed; she flipped it over and pulled it towards her, her eyes scanning the headline and picture.

"We still have time," Scott assured him.

"Is this whole 'remain optimistic in the face of complete and utter disaster' thing a part of the 'be a better Scott McCall program?'"

Scott chuckled. "Not if it doesn't work," he admitted.

"No, it works," Stiles said, picking up more paper from his bedroom floor. It was all useless information that they didn't need.

"Uh, guys," said Katie, pushing herself to her knees. "I think I found something."

Scott and Stiles both turned to look at her.

"Or better yet, Stiles, I think your dad may know something," Katie corrected.

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked.

Katie held up the piece of paper in her hands. "Your father was the arresting officer of the bank break-in," she said.

Stiles snatched the paper from her, gave it a once over, and quickly bolted from the room after his father.

Katie and Scott watched him, before turning to face one another again.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Jackson stood at his locker when he felt a presence watching him from across the hall. He paused and looked over his shoulder, nearly jumping a foot in the air as the tiresome, pale face of his sister loomed closer.

"God, Katie!"

Katie cracked a smile. "Sorry," she apologized. "I thought you'd have heard me for sure."

"Are you alright? You look like you've just stepped out of a slasher movie."

"Thanks," Katie said sarcastically. "Honestly? No, i'm not OK. It happened again last night."

"What did?"

"I had another flashback."

Jackson shoved his textbook into his locker, and then turned to face his sister completely. "Are you OK?" he asked. "Did you hurt yourself this time?"

"No, Stiles and Scott were there to help me," Katie explained. "But, Jackson, it was Isaac who triggered it. He scared me, while I was getting coffee. I tried to defend myself, and he knocked the knife from my hand before grabbing me."

Jackson growled and slammed his locker shut.

Katie jumped, and Jackson instantly regretted his actions. He sighed, and calmed down. "Sorry," he said. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"I don't know," said Katie. "I'm scared to be alone."

"Uncle Sean is at home," said Jackson. "I'll call him to come pick you up, shall I? He won't mind. Have you taken your medication this morning?"

Katie nodded, rubbing her eyes and yawning. One of the side effects to her sedatives was that she would feel drowsy throughout the day; and she knew that Stiles had sedated her last night in order to get her to sleep. She hadn't had a natural sleep in months.

Fishing his cellphone from his pocket, Jackson dialed his uncle's number, and herded Katie towards the main doors of the school.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Well, I have English," Jackson replied. "But you're going home. I'm calling Uncle Sean to come and get you. You need sleep - Uncle Sean, yeah, can you come get Katie from school, and she looks dead on her feet."

There was a buzz across the line, and Jackson nodded.

"Yeah. I'll wait outside with her," Jackson said. "Alright, see you soon."

He hung up and looked down at his sister. She looked like she could sleep for a month. "You don't need a sedated sleep," he told her. "You need a natural one."

"Natural ones are plagued with nightmares," said Katie.

"Remember when we were kids?" Jackson asked, "and I used to tease you about that stuffed animal grandpa gave you for Christmas?" Katie nodded in remembrance. "Dig him out. Nana always said that stuffed animals were guardians in disguise, and he always did bring you comfort."

Katie smiled, and nodded. "I'll dig him out as soon as I get home," she said. "Oh, Scott and Stiles wanted me to tell you that they're meeting at Derek's at five to go over the plan."

"You figured it out?" Jackson asked. In the wake of finding out his sister had suffered another flashback, he had completely forgotten about the plan to rescue Boyd and Erica.

"Yeah. Stiles will explain everything later," said Katie. "I'm too tired to think right now. Just... come get me before you head to Derek's, please?"

"If you're awake, I will," said Jackson. "But right now, you need to take care of yourself."

Katie fought back a yawn as their uncle Sean pulled up opposite them. He got out of the car and approached the steps, one look of Katie told him everything he need to know, and he understood exactly why Jackson was sending he home.

"You," said Sean, pointing at his nephew, "get to class. I'll take care of this one," he added wrapping his arm around Katie's shoulders and leading her back to the car.

"Call me later to make sure you're OK," Jackson called to his sister, as she climbed into the front seat of her uncle's car. Katie waved as the car pulled off, with Sean honking the horn as they left.

Jackson sighed, and waited for them to disappear from view. He then shouldered his backpack and left for English. He had no intentions of calling Katie before heading to Derek's later, she needed to worry about herself at the given moment, not the pack; and he wanted to talk to Isaac without her being there.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Following the end of school, Jackson quickly dropped Lydia off at her house and then returned to his own. His parents were still at work, but his uncle Sean was sitting in the kitchen; he looked up when his nephew walked in, kicking off his shoes and shrugging out of his jacket.

"Ah, you're home," Sean said. "Katie's still asleep, if you're wondering."

"Good. I want it to stay that way," said Jackson. "Did she tell you what happened last night?"

Sean shook his head. "No. Do you know why she didn't come home last night?" he asked.

"She stayed with a friend," Jackson answered. "But that's beside the point. She had another flashback."

"What triggered it this time?"

"I'm not sure," said Jackson, "but I have a pretty good idea. I'm heading out," he added, glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall. "I don't know what time I'll be home; tell mom and dad that I'm at a friend's."

"And where exactly are you going?" Sean asked.

"Out with friends."

"To do what?" Sean asked, "and I thought Katie wanted you to wake her when you got home?"

Jackson shook his head. "Katie needs to worry about recovering," he said. "She doesn't need any more triggers, or flashbacks. She has to learn to deal with what happened to her, to come to terms with what Blake put her through, and understand that her friends are only trying to help."

"So it was a friend that was the trigger?" Sean asked.

"Maybe."

"Who?"

Jackson sighed heavily. "Isaac may have been a little careless," he explained. "I'm going to talk with him later. But Katie needs to stay away from him for a little bit longer. At least until Isaac understands that things aren't gonna go back to normal for him and Katie, not yet, anyway."

"They may never go back to normal for them," said Sean. "Katie was drugged with a GHB; she hallucinated that Isaac was there, and a few of things that were said have obviously deeply hurt her. Unless she can come to terms with the hallucinations, Isaac may as well kiss their relationship goodbye."

Jackson sighed, and nodded in agreement. "I'll make sure he knows and understands," he said, rechecking the time. It was nearly five o'clock. "I really have to go. When Katie wakes up, tell her I'm sorry, and I'll talk with her either later tonight or tomorrow."

"She's not going to be happy that you're keeping her out of the loop, Jackson, whatever it is you're doing, and if she's involved, you know what she's like."

"I know," Jackson agreed. "But it's for her own good, Uncle Sean. Just make sure she knows that I am doing this for her, and her wellbeing. I'll see you later, or maybe tomorrow, depending on everything."

Sean nodded, and waved as Jackson sped upstairs. He could faintly hear the sound of his nephew rummaging around in his bedroom, and seconds later Jackson was back down the stairs. He had changed clothes, and was pulling on his shoes and jacket, before hightailing it out of the door.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Scott watched as Jackson climbed out of his car, and headed towards him and Stiles as they stood waiting outside of Derek's apartment building. It was strange to see Jackson alone, since the near death incident with the Kanima, and the whole deal with Blake; neither Katie nor Jackson ever went anywhere without one another.

"Where's Katie?" Stiles asked, also noticing the distinct lack of the brunette's presence. He had been worried about her since last night, and especially since she hadn't been in any of their classes at school. He knew that she had come to school in the morning, he had dropped her off, but she had scampered off to find her brother and that had been the last they saw of her.

"At home," Jackson answered. "She's got enough going on with these flashbacks. I don't want her involved in anything else that would put her on edge. The last thing any of us need is her freezing up when there's something going down."

Scott nodded in understanding. "Good point," he said. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"What about Isaac?" Stiles asked, following the two werewolves into the building. "We promised him that Katie would be here."

"It's partly Isaac's fault that I left Katie at home," said Jackson. "I want to make sure that he understands how vulnerable Katie is right now, and that he can't push her back to normality. She's not ready for a relationship, and he can't force her back into one. He has to be patient, and realize that this isn't about him, it's about Katie's mental wellbeing."

"You're going to have the 'big brother' chat with him?" Stiles asked.

Jackson nodded, and pulled open the door leading to Derek's place. "Yes," he said. "I am."

"Good. Good," said Scott, distractedly, "but first we need to figure out this plan." He turned to Stiles. "Do you that maps and blue prints?"

"Right... here," Stiles said removing said works from his backpack. He laid them down on the table near the window, and grabbed a red marker pen. "OK. See this? This is how they got in," he drew a red circle on the map. "It's a rooftop air conditioning vent. It leads down inside, into the wall of the vault which is here," he drew a second circle. "One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft, now that space is so small it took them about twelve hours to drill into that wall, which is stone by the way, then throughout the rest of the night they syphoned the cash up to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall. Boom."

Scott looked skeptically at the foundation plans. "Are you gonna be able to fit in there?" he asked.

"Yes we can, but very, very barely," Stiles answered, "and they also patched the wall back up, so we're going to need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking a diamond bit -"

"Look, forget the drill," said Derek, interrupting the hyperactive teenager. "If I go in first how much space do I have?"

"What - what do you think you're going to do, Derek, are you going to punch through the wall?" Stiles asked sarcastically.

"Yes, Stiles, I am going to punch through the wall," Derek answered with a bored sigh.

"OK, big guy, let's see it, make the fist, big ol' fist," said Stiles, glancing at both Scott and Jackson, both of whom were looked slightly concerned, but also amused.

Bored, Derek held up his fist.

Stiles seized the Alpha's wrist, and held his hand roughly three inches away from the fist. "OK, big bad wolf, you see this? This is roughly about three inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid -" Stiles broke off as Derek slammed his fist into his palm, rendering his entire arm, from the wrist down, numb. "He could do it."

"I'll get through the wall," Derek assured them. He then looking at each of the three beta's present. "Who's following me down?"

Peter shook his head as his nephew's eyes landed on him. "Don't look at me," he said, "i'm not up to fighting speed yet, and honestly with Isaac out of commission you're not looking at very good odds for yourself."

"So i'm supposed to just let them die?" Derek asked.

"One of them is already dead," Peter replied.

"We don't know that!" Derek exclaimed.

"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here?" Peter asked. "A _pack_ of Alpha's, _all _of them killers; and if that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant alpha. I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids, they'll be missed."

Stiles sighed and braced himself against the table. His wrist and arm tingled as the feeling returned to it, but he was more annoyed with Peter's pessimistic outlook on the situation. "Can someone kill him again, please?" he asked.

Peter glared at the teenager, and then turned to his nephew. "Derek, seriously not worth the risk," he reminded him. He didn't know why he was bothering; Derek never listened to him anyway. Not now, not when he were younger. He was a hot-head, and too stubborn for his own good.

"What about you two?" Derek asked, looking at no one in particular.

"Yeah, sure if you want me to come -"

"Not you!" Derek sighed, once again cutting Stiles off.

"These two," said Stiles, pointing at Jackson and Scott.

Scott and Jackson exchanged looks. They weren't completely decided on the part they wished to play at this stage of the game, but they also knew that if they didn't do something and fast, they'd risk losing another member of their pack.

"I don't know about Erica," said Scott, "but if Boyd's still alive then we need to do something. We have to try."

"But?" Derek asked, sensing the continuation.

"Who's the other girl?" Jackson asked. "The one locked in there with Boyd?"

* * *

**Copyrighted ©**

**A/N: Longest chapter ever written for this series. Please review!**

_**REVIEWS ARE WELCOME AND VERY MUCH APPRECITED**_

**Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx**

**Chapter updated Saturday, February 15, 2014 at 10:50pm**


	5. New Divide

**OMG! Excuse me while I go cry myself into oblivion. I knew I was not prepared for the second death of the season, but not him! I would've settled for **_**anyone**_** but Aiden!**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Wolf. This story is fan made. I do however own Katie and Ashley Whittemore, and Sean Heartman.

**Dedications:** This chapter is dedicated to the following: **nobleboivin, sobreyra274, TonnaMama81, voided, I'll Send Postcards, LegalAddiction20m, Degrassilovelive101** and **meels234.**

**Author's Note: **This is not where my Teen Wolf series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost. I suggest you read my stories in order:

**Finding an Anchor - Ohana - Make Me a Believer - Possessions - Luna - There's No Place Like Home - Natural Born Survivor.**

* * *

**Title:** The Hunt is On

**Summary:** With the alpha pack establishing their territory, the Beacon Hills werewolves find themselves up against another threat in the form of a Dark Druid. Blood will be shed, and choices made as Katie decides on who her heart desires most.

* * *

"You _lost_ them?" Derek asked, disbelieving what he was hearing.

"_Yeah, I kinda had too,_" Scott replied. But Jackson could hear him as loudly as if he were. In reality he is somewhere else in Beacon Hills preserve, and talking with Derek on the phone.

"That wasn't really the plan," Derek said.

"_I know. Which is why I think we should stick together, trust me,_" said Scott. "_They're too strong, too fast, and way... way to angry for one person to handle._"

They were talking about Boyd and Cora - Derek's sister. A person that Derek thought had died years ago in the house fire that had killed most of his family members. The two had been released from the vault, where they had been kept for the last four months by Allison who had come to the rescue of Scott after Boyd tried to kill him, now they were running free in Beacon Hills preserve.

"_We gotta do this together,_" Scott insisted.

"Jackson and I are on the trails at the entrance to the preserve," Derek explained. "Can you meet us here?"

"_Yeah. Just gotta drop something off first,_" Scott answered.

Jackson furrowed his brow and looked up at the Alpha as he snapped his phone closed. "What's he got to drop off?" he asked, curiously.

"Dunno. Didn't ask," Derek said. "It's not really a priority right now, is it?"

"Whatever," Jackson shrugged, walking a few feet away.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Katie froze as she kicked back the blankets of her bed, and jumped up. The tapping was coming from her window. Seeing as she and her family and only just moved into their new home, it was hard to see how anyone could've found them. The only people who actually knew the new address were Lydia and Danny; she had even given her new address to Allison yet.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Cautiously approaching her curtains, Katie gripped them hard and pulled. The rings grinded hard against the pole above her window and Katie jumped as Isaac's face loomed back at her through the glass. He looked apologetic and Katie felt her heartstrings pull tighter.

With a sigh, and the revelation that she couldn't hide from him forever. Katie opened the window to let Isaac in. Like she had told Aiden, Isaac was still her boyfriend, and while she may have been more focused on Aiden right now, and dealing with everything Blake had put her through, she couldn't shove Isaac out in the cold. He had done so much for her.

"Hi," Isaac said, as soon as he was inside.

Katie forced a smile, and closed the bedroom window. "Hi," she replied.

"You're mad at me," Isaac said.

"No," Katie said, shaking her head. "Confused."

Isaac frowned. "About what?" she asked.

"I dunno," Katie admitted. She was confused. She was confused, angry, upset, terrified. Everything had happened so fast in the last couple of months, she had been kidnapped, raped, beaten, nearly murdered, saved by a guy that she thought had left her, then forced to try and deal with it all in a short amount of time. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"I was hoping we could talk," Isaac said.

Katie lowered her eyes, and walked around him towards her bed. It was no longer lying beside her window, like it had done in her old house, but rather was now on the otherside of the room, behind the door. "It depends on what you want to talk about," she said, her back still turned.

"What Blake put you through," Isaac said. "What you saw... you know it wasn't me, right?"

Katie sighed. She should've expected this. He wanted to talk to her about the hallucinations she had had of him. The visions she had seen when Blake had drugged her, in hopes of wearing her down and defeating her. Katie was sad to admit that it had worked.

"It felt so real," Katie whispered. "It didn't feel like a dream. It felt real. I... I didn't know how to distinguish between dreams and reality at the time. I was so scared, I thought you were there to rescue me, but you weren't... you were there to taunt me."

"Katie, I would never taunt you," Isaac said. "I don't know what dream!me said to you, but whatever it was, it wasn't real. I love you."

Katie felt her breath catch in her throat. "Please don't," she pleaded. "Don't say that."

"Why not?" Isaac asked. "It's the truth. I love you. I've loved you for quite some time now. It hurts me to see us so distant; it kills to see you so upset. I want to help, but I don't know how. Tell me what to do, please."

"There's nothing you can do," Katie said, "but wait. You said you would wait for me..."

"It's taking longer than I expected."

"It's not something I can just bounce back from," Katie said. "What happened to me... it invaded my privacy. It broke my trust. I'm not saying I don't trust you, but I can't trust myself around anyone. Not until I'm truly sure that I'm safe."

"I would never hurt you."

Katie nodded. "I know you wouldn't," she said. "But you didn't go through what I did. You didn't see what I saw, or hear what I heard. That... vision? It had your face, your eyes, your mouth, for all I knew it was you. You told me that you didn't care. They may not have been your words, but they came from your mouth and in your voice. It _felt_ real."

Isaac took a hesitant step forward, and reached out to touch Katie. She recoiled away, hunching her form and hugging herself. Her frame trembled, and Isaac pulled back. He remembered what had happened last night after he had touched her. He didn't want that to happen again.

"About last night," he started. "I wanted to apologize. I should never have snuck up on you. I should've announced I was there, or called first to see if I could come over. I should never have just turned up out of the blue. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Katie said, slowly turning around to face him. "I'm sorry too."

Isaac frowned. "Sorry for what?" he asked.

"I know this is hard," Katie said, "and I don't know how long it is going to take for me to put it behind me. But I can't do... this," she motioned between them, "until I at least come to terms what happened to me."

"What are you doing?" Isaac asked.

Katie shook her head, tears shining in her eyes. "I'm really sorry, Isaac, this is the last thing I want to do, but I can't ask you to wait for me. I don't know how long it will take for me to come to terms with everything that happened with Blake, and I don't want to deprive you of something that you really want."

"I'm willing to wait," Isaac said.

"I don't want you too," Katie whispered. "I don't want you to wait for me. I'm not going to ask you to wait a ridiculous amount of time."

"Well, what if I don't want to let you go?"

Katie sighed and shrugged. "If you want to keep fighting," she said, "then I can't stop you. But for my sake, and yours, I think we should put whatever we have left on hold for the time being. I know it's not what you want, but -"

"Will it make you happy?" Isaac interrupted. "Putting us on hold?"

"I dunno," Katie admitted. "But I'm doing this for your benefit."

"My benefit?"

"I think it is unfair," Katie said. "I feel like I am tagging you along. Giving you false hope and I don't want to do that. If you love me, then let me go."

Isaac hesitated. He didn't want to 'let go'. He didn't want to lose her. But she had asked she could've been like every other girl he had seen in High school and just ignored him, or moved on behind his back. But she hadn't. She had asked him to put them on hold. While in a sense it wasn't a break up, but it also wasn't a moving on curve, either. It was a standstill. Technically he was single again, and if someone else caught his eye while he and Katie were on hold, she couldn't accuse him of cheating. But he was certain that there was no worth dating, no one that could compare to Katie in the slightest. He would wait for her, and be ready to take her back when she had come to terms with what had happened.

No matter how long it took, he'd be waiting for her.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

"Over here!" Jackson called.

Derek and Scott raced through the trees, jumping over a fallen tree and meeting up with the second beta. Jackson pointed at a footprint in the wet dirt, and looked up at the other two.

"Is it them?" he asked

"We're not the only ones that have decided to stick together," Derek confirmed.

"Is that going to make it easier or harder to catch them?" Scott asked.

"I dunno," Derek answered.

Scott sighed and straightened up. "Derek," he said, glancing warily at Jackson. "I saw Boyd try to rip two little kids a part. Are they going to do that to everyone they find?" he asked.

"Everyone and anyone," Derek said.

Jackson and Scott shared a panicked glance, before following after the Alpha. If that was the case, then they needed to find Boyd and Cora before they found a way out of the preserve and into the residential area.

"Do you hear that?" Scott asked, stopping short. Derek and Jackson, both of whom had heard the scream, stopped too and turned back to face Scott.

"It's coming from the North," Jackson said, nodding ahead of them. How he knew it was the North, he didn't know, but no one was going to take any chances on his Geography. They needed to find the woman who had screamed, and fast.

Using his track skills, Jackson pulled ahead of his two companions and leapt in front of the woman. His eyes burned molten amber, and he bared his teeth at Cora. The she-wolf snarled back, and glanced around as another body landed to her right.

Jackson looked up to see it was Isaac, but before he could say anything to his former Lacrosse team-mate, Scott and Derek arrived.

Derek was fully shifted. His eyes burned red, and he snarled at Cora. The she-wolf backed away, hesitated, and then took off running into the trees. Derek gave chase, Isaac trailing behind. Jackson glanced around at Scott, then at the woman behind him, and followed the other two.

Scott paused and turned to the woman. He had to make sure she was OK before he could catch up with the others.

"Are you OK?" he asked his tone firm but gentle.

"Wh-what?" the girl stammered, terrified.

"Are you alright?" Scott asked, holding his hands up to show that he meant no harm. The girl nodded, but she still looked scared. "You need to get out of here. OK? Get out of the woods. Get out of here as fast as you can."

With his warning made, Scott turned and chased after the others.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

After Isaac had left, Katie had received a phone call from Stiles asking her to meet him at the pool. She had agreed, and hung up, only to realize that she couldn't meet him because her car keys had been confiscated. Given the way she had been feeling lately, and the not sleeping or sedative naps she had been taking, her parents didn't want to run the risk of her falling asleep at the wheel and really injuring herself.

"Great," Katie groaned, dropping her phone onto the bed as she received Stiles' voicemail... again.

"Problems in paradise?"

Katie jumped and spun around. Her heart raced a mile a minute, and her annoyance quickly turned to anger as she saw it was Aiden who had snuck up on her. He was standing in front of her open window, looking smug about something.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"You said to come over," Aiden said.

"No, I said that _maybe_ I'd meet with you," Katie said, "if I didn't have plans."

"If you had plans then you'd be out," Aiden pointed out. "The fact that you're inside tells me that you don't have plans."

"Actually, I do," Katie said. "Stiles just called. He needs my help with something."

Aiden quirked an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. "Help with what?"

"I dunno," Katie shrugged. "That's what I'm going to find out."

"Need a ride?"

Katie sighed, hesitated, and then nodded. "Yeah," she said. "My mother confiscated my car keys."

"Well, if you don't mind a five minute run, I can get my bike."

"Run?" Katie asked. "You ran here?"

"A bike's engine would cause noise," Aiden shrugged. "I wanted to get in without you uncle hearing me."

"You know that makes you sound like a stalker," Katie pointed out. "Or a kidnapper."

Aiden inclined his head. "True, but I would never hurt you," he said.

"You keep saying that," Katie said. "You're not helping my dilemma."

"You're going to have to choose sooner or later," Aiden said, climbing back out of the window. He held his hand out for Katie as she stared at him, and then climbed out herself. Given that she couldn't go downstairs, and out the front door; and it wouldn't have been the first time she had climbed out of her bedroom window to avoid detection from her uncle or parents.

"Why do I have to choose at all?"

Aiden jumped down into the front garden first, and looked up at her. He coaxed her to jump, promising that he would catch her. Katie did as told, and leapt off of the side. Aiden's arms wrapped around her waist as she stumbled backwards into the rose bushes. "Because neither one of us is going to want to share you," he said.

Katie felt her breath hitch as she looked up into his face. He was so close, it was slightly unnerving, but it also felt safe and content. She remembered how he had once held her exactly as he was holding her now. Close, and with such a sense of security that, despite how much of their relationship seemed rough, he still made her feel safe. She loved him for that.

"Um, we should go," Katie said, stepping out of his arms. Instantly the feeling of warmth and security disappeared, but she had a job to do with Stiles, and she had only just put her relationship with Isaac on hold. She didn't feel comfortable moving straight back into Aiden's arms after just ending things with Isaac. It wasn't fair on her, and it definitely wasn't fair on the two of them.

"How fast can you run?" he asked.

"You know how fast," Katie said, shooting him a look.

"Well, you need to run faster."

"I'm human, Aiden," Katie said. "I can't run insanely fast like you."

"Then hop up," Aiden said, patting his shoulder.

Katie frowned, and when realization clicked, she shook her head. "No way," she said. "I'm not climbing up on your back!"

"It's the only way," Aiden said, and then paused. "We have to go now. Your uncle's heard us, he's coming outside."

With a frustrated sigh, Katie climbed up onto Aiden's back and wrapped her arms around his neck, as her head rested on his shoulder. "You tell anyone about this, and I'll kill you," she whispered in his ear.

"Would I do that?" he asked, shooting off.

Katie gasped, and tightened her hold. The wind whipped her hair around, and she had to bury her face in his shoulder to avoid the sharp sting of the breeze as they cut through it at a fast pace. She had never run with Isaac before. So this was a new experience for her.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Having lost Cora and Boyd for the second time that night, Jackson, Scott, Derek and now Isaac, gathered in a clearing while Scott received a call from Stiles explaining the situation at the pool.

"Are you sure?" Scott asked, unable to fathom what he was hearing.

"_Yeah. Throat ripped out, blood everywhere,_" Stiles said, giving an easy visual of the scene he was facing. "_It's the liking freaking Shining over here. If two little twin girls' come out of the woods, asking me to play with them forever and ever I'm going to be surprised._"

"Can you get a little closer to make sure it was them?" Scott asked.

"_Make sure it was them?_" Stiles asked. "_Scott, who else is going around ripping throats out?_"

"Please just do it," Scott sighed.

With Stiles doing as he asked, Scott turned to the others and relayed his findings back to the pack.

"This doesn't make any sense," Derek sighed. "Public pool is on the otherside of the woods. We haven't tracked them anywhere near there."

"Derek, they killed someone," Scott insisted.

"How are they moving so fast?" Derek asked. He didn't want to believe that Boyd and Cora had killed someone.

"Derek," Scott interrupted.

"They can't be that fast on foot!" Derek argued.

"They killed someone," Scott repeated. "Some totally innocent kid is dead, and it's our fault."

"It's my fault," Derek confessed.

"We need help," Scott said.

"We have Isaac now," Derek said, nodding at his Beta.

"I mean real help," Scott insisted. "They're too fast for us. For all of us. They're too strong, too... too..."

"Rabid?" Jackson suggested.

Scott nodded.

"We'll catch them," Derek insisted.

"And do what?" Jackson asked. "Hold them down until the sun comes up?"

Derek sighed. "Maybe it would be easier to just kill them," he said.

"Killing them isn't the right thing to do," Scott said, shaking his head.

"What if it's the only thing to do?" Isaac asked. "I mean, if we can't catch them what else can we do?"

"Find someone who knows what they're doing," Scott said.

"Who?" Derek asked, skeptically.

"Someone who knows how to hunt werewolves," Scott smirked.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

By the time Katie and Aiden had reached the public pool, a squad car and ambulance was already stationed inside; and a body bag was lying on a stretcher at the back of the van. Katie jumped from Aiden's bike and removed her helmet, instinctively wrapping her arms around herself.

The last time she had been near an ambulance had been when Jackson had killed himself, granted she had been in one after Aiden had found her down in the war shelter, but she had been in and out of consciousness then and could vaguely remember much of it happening - but the time with Jackson was more relatable to this scene than her own dilemma.

Unsure of what to do, Aiden placed his hand on Katie's shoulder. She tensed, but didn't react like she was being attacked. Instead she leaned in to his touch, relishing in the idea that she wasn't facing this alone.

"Where's your friend Stiles?" Aiden asked.

Katie shook her head. She did a brief search of the area, but found no signs of Stiles. "I dunno," she said, checking her phone for any messaged or missed calls. Pulling her thumb across her the screen, she unlocked it and froze at the screen saver. It was a picture of she and Isaac, she sighed and realized that she'd have to change it now.

"_You've reached Stiles. Leave your message._"

"Why do you even have this thing?!" Katie growled. "Where are you? I'm at the pool. You're not. What's going on? Call me back and let me know where you are, I'll come to you."

Aiden chuckled. "I remember you leaving me a message like that once," he said.

"You never got back to me though," Katie replied.

"Actually I did," Aiden. "I came looking for you, remember?"

"I'm supposed to believe that the two were linked?" Katie asked. "I sent the message eight months before returning to Beacon Hills. You could've called, or sent a message to let me know that you were OK."

"I couldn't," Aiden said. "I couldn't risk putting you in danger."

"Of who?"

"Our Alpha."

"Deucalion?"

Aiden hesitated. Did he tell her the truth, or keep her in th dark? What if someone found out about her? He and Ethan had pissed off a lot of people in the past few years; he didn't want to pull her into his world any more than she already was.

"No. Not Deucalion."

"Then who?"

"No one," Aiden said. "Forget I said anything."

Katie frowned up at him, but before she could say anything in response she was blinded by the bright lights of someone's headlights. Raising her hand to block the glare, Katie recognized the SUV as Chris Argent's. She couldn't see his passenger, but figured that he wasn't there for a swim.

"We should get out of here," Katie said, checking her phone again.

Aiden nodded, but didn't question her need to leave so suddenly, or without knowing where Stiles was hiding.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Back at the Preserve, after gaining the help of Chris Argent, Scott and the others crowded around the hunter as he dropped a large sports bag onto the floor at his feet.

"You're tracking them by print?" Chris asked, looking at the foot print in front of him.

"Trying too, yeah," Scott nodded.

"Then you've been wasting your time," Chris said. "There is only one creature on earth that can visually track footprints; and that's man. And if you're not trained like me then you have no idea that this print is Boyd's," he pointed at the fresh imprint that Jackson had found earlier, "and these," he pointed at another fresh set leading towards Isaac.

"Are Cora's," the blonde haired werewolf said.

"No, they're yours," Chris corrected.

Isaac frowned and looked down at his own feet.

"You trampled Cora's when you walked over here," Chris informed him. "Listen, I know the four of you are focusing half of your energy on resisting your own urges under the full moon, but that puts you at a severe disadvantage to Boyd and Cora who have fully given in. They've put the pedal to the floor, while you four are barely reaching the speed limit."

"So, what do we do?" Derek sighed.

"Focus on your sense of smell," Chris advised them. "Actual wolves are known to track their prey up to 100 miles a day by scent. A trained hunter can use scent to hunt them. If the wind is with them, then wolves can track a scent by the distance of 2 miles, which means we can draw them too us or into a trap," he lifted out four pairs of goggles and tossed each one to each of the werewolves.

"What are these?" Jackson asked.

"The full moon does give us one advantage," Chris explained. "A high heat signature. This makes them easier to spot with infra-red. What you're holding, Jackson, are night vision goggles, specially designed with infra-red lenses for particular hunts such as this."

"Thanks," Derek said, tossing his pair back. "But I've got my own." His eyes glowed red, to prove his point.

"Just remember, we're not hunting wild animals," Chris reminded them. "Under both those impulses are two intelligent human beings. They'll do what they can to rely on that human side, it's suppressed but it's still there. It'll remind them to mask their scents, cover their tracks, and how to survive.

Chris turned his back on the four wolves, and looked out over the brightly lit lights of Beacon Hills. From the preserve they could see the whole county. It was a beautiful sight, but they weren't there for the beauty of it all. They were there on a job; a job to pin point an exact location to trap Cora and Boyd until the sun came up at dawn.

"When was the last time you saw you sister, Derek?" Chris asked.

"Nine years," Derek answered. "I thought she had died in the fire."

"You feel like you have a lock on her scent?"

"No."

"Scott, how confident are you in your abilities?" Chris asked the Beta.

"Honestly?" Scott scoffed. "Most of the time i'm trying to not think about the things I can smell."

"Alright," Chris sighed. There was no point in asking Isaac or Jackson, even though they were werewolves, but they were still grappling with their abilities unlike Derek or Scott who were much more profound. "The problem is when they breech the woods and hit the residential area. Once they've past the high school, they're right in the middle of Beacon Hills."

"They're not gonna kill everything they see, are they?" Isaac asked concerned for the safety of Katie and everyone else who was out. He knew Katie was no longer at home, he had seen her drive past him, Derek and Jackson while Scott conversed with Chris outside the grocery store. She had been on the back of a motorcycle; he just wasn't sure whose motorcycle.

"No," Chris answered. "But there is an important difference to recognize. Wolves hunt for food and at a certain point they get full; Boyd and Cora are hunting for the pleasure of the kill. For some primal apex predatory satisfaction that comes from the ripping of warm bodies to bloody shreds, and who knows when that need gets fulfilled."

"We can't kill them," Scott said, look straight at Chris.

"But what if we can't catch them?" Derek asked.

"Then maybe we just need to contain them," Chris suggested. "There's no one in the school at night, is there?"

"You want to trap them inside?" Jackson asked.

"If there is somewhere with a strong enough door, no windows or access to the outside," Chris said, theorizing a plan.

"What about the boiler room?" Isaac asked. "That's just one big steel door."

"Are you sure the school is empty?" Chris asked.

"It has to be," Scott said. "No one could be there this late, right?"

Jackson shrugged. He remembered the last time they had been at the school late; it had been over two years ago when Peter Hale, who had been the Alpha at the time had trapped them all there. All of them save for Isaac and Katie.

* * *

**Copyrighted ©**

I hate begging for reviews. But desperate time's calls for desperate measures - did you all know that reviewing is a two-way-door? I write, you review, if you review then I write... see the pattern.

Now, here comes the fun part: If you don't review, I don't write. If I don't write, you don't review. If no one writes then all authors' cry because they think no one on Fanfiction likes their stories. So please review?

Thanks all.

**Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx**

**Chapter updated Friday, March 28, 2014 at 10:42pm**


	6. The Nightmare Begins

**DUDES! Did you all hear the news about season 4? Not only is it three months away (June 23rd) but Allison and Aiden aren't the only two characters not returning. Isaac is leaving us too (although he's not dead, he's still not gonna be in season 4) why are our babies leaving?**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Wolf. This story is fan made. I do however own Katie and Ashley Whittemore, and Sean Heartman.

**Dedications:** This chapter is dedicated to the following: **Limavaa, FizzWizz2011** and **Aliciasellers75**

**Author's Note:** This is not where my Teen Wolf series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read the stories in order:

**Finding an Anchor - Ohana - Make Me a Believer - Possessions - Luna - There's No Place Like Home - Natural Born Survivor.**

* * *

**Title:** The Hunt is On

**Summary:** With the alpha pack establishing their territory, the Beacon Hills werewolves find themselves up against another threat in the form of a Dark Druid. Blood will be shed, and choices made as Katie decides who her heart desires most.

* * *

"Aiden, stop!" Katie yelled over the roar of the engine. She felt Aiden slow down as he pulled over to the side of the curb. Once completely stationary, Katie removed her helmet and flattened her hair as Aiden followed her lead.

"What's wrong?" Aiden asked.

Katie looked at him as she pulled her phone from her pocket. It had been buzzing non-stop since they had left the pool. Sliding her thumb across the padlock, she inspected her screen to find several missed calls. Two from Isaac, five from Jackson, three from Stiles, including two voicemails and a text message.

"Someone's clearly been trying to get through to me," Katie said, biting her lower lip. She checked her voicemails first, surprised to find one from Stiles and the other from her father. "Well, I think it's safe to say my parents know I'm gone," she said, ending the voicemail from her father.

"Came home to an empty room?" Aiden asked.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Katie said, flicking through her missed calls. She selected Stiles' name, and hit 'call.' He answered on the second ring.

"_Where've you been?_" Stiles asked, immediately. "_You complain about me not answering my phone!_"

"Bite me, Stiles," Katie replied. "Where are you?"

"_At the hospital._"

"What? Why are you at the hospital, are you OK?"

"_I'm fine. Melissa called, she needs me to see something,_" Stiles said. "_Can you meet me here? I could use a second opinion._"

Katie nodded, although he couldn't see her. "Sure. Meet me out front?" she asked. Ever since Jackson's death, and her own ordeal she'd developed a sort of phobia for hospitals.

"_Yeah. See you in a bit._"

"Yep," Katie said, hanging up. "I have to go to the hospital."

"Why did you ask him to meet you out front?" Aiden asked.

"Because I hate hospitals," Katie answered. "Besides, where else was he supposed to meet me?"

Aiden shrugged, and handed her back her helmet. "What about me?" he asked.

"What about you?"

"What am I to do once I've dropped you off with Stiles?"

"You could always stay," Katie said, clicking her helmet into place.

"I don't think Stilinski will approve."

Katie shrugged and got back on behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I really don't care," she answered. In all honesty, Katie was enjoying her time with Aiden, and she didn't want it to end. But she knew, sooner or later, it would have too.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Stiles looked up at the sound of an engine turning the corner, and a sleek black bike pulled to a halt in front of the hospital doors. On board there were two passengers, one was obviously female because their build was small, while the others muscular, proving it to be a male.

"Katie?" Stiles asked as the female hopped off the bike and removed her helmet. Brown hair fell down to her shoulders, and she smiled up at him. "Who are you -?" he cut off as Aiden removed his helmet. "What's going on? How are you with him?"

"Because Jackson is out doing god only knows what -"

"Chasing Cora and Boyd."

"Who?" Katie frowned.

"Cora," Stiles answered. "Derek's sister."

"Derek has a sister?" Katie repeated.

"It's long and complicated," Stiles said. "But that's where Jackson is, up at the preserve chasing them."

"I thought you were breaking them out of the vault?"

"It didn't go according to plan," Stiles said, glancing at Aiden. "That still doesn't explain this match up."

Katie glanced at Aiden, and then back at Stiles. "Well, my parents' have confiscated my car keys," she explained. "I needed a way to get here."

"Why didn't you tell me on the phone? I'd have picked you up."

"Didn't think," Katie shrugged. "Shall we go find out what Melissa wants now?"

Stiles glanced once more at Aiden, and then led the way into the Hospital. It was obvious that he didn't approve of Aiden's appearance, but who was he to argue with Katie on who she chose to hang around with?

Melissa was standing at the front desk, going over some papers. She looked up as Stiles, Katie and Aiden approached. She recognized the latter as the one who had come in with Katie the day she had been found hidden up in the preserve.

"Hey," Melissa smiled at the trio. "Over here," she led them off down the hall, "and if you breathe a word about this to anyone, I swear to god I will kill you painfully and slowly."

"Why do you want to show me a dead body that I've already seen?" Stiles asked.

"Because you haven't seen everything," Melissa explained.

Katie frowned and glanced back at Aiden; she reached out and grabbed his hand, tugging him down the hallway after Melissa and Stiles.

Once inside the morgue, Katie stepped up beside the gurney where a dead body was lying. Melissa pulled back the sheet to reveal a kid, no older than themselves. He looked like he was sleeping, but they all knew better than that.

"See this around his neck?" Melissa asked, pointing at a faint bruise above the slit in his throat. "That's a ligature mark. That means he was strangled with something, like cord or rope."

"OK, wait a second," Stiles frowned. "What kind of werewolf strangles someone?"

Katie frowned and looked at Stiles. "What? You think a werewolf did this?" she asked.

"Well, we thought Cora and Boyd had done it," Stiles said. "I mean, they are the only ones going around ripping out people's throats."

"A werewolf didn't do this, Stiles, this kid was killed in a ritualistic human kind of way," Katie said.

"My thoughts exactly," Melissa agreed. "There is also this," he tilted the kids head to show a crack to the back of the skull.

"Oh, what is that?" Stiles cringed. "Is that brain matter? Yeah, its brain matter, of course."

Katie gagged, and turned away. Her face turned a pale green, and she covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from throwing up.

"See the indentation?" Melissa asked. "He was hit in the back of the head, hard enough to kill him. In fact, any one of these things could've killed him. I mean, someone seriously wanted this poor kid dead."

"Well, then this couldn't have been Boyd or Cora, you know what I mean?" Stiles asked. "They wouldn't have done all that."

"No, if this had been Boyd or Cora then we'd be looking at ripped shreds," Aiden said. "They would have physically ripped the body a part. Limb by limb."

"Urgh, not helping!" Katie said, clutching her stomach.

"Sorry," Aiden said.

"Is it possible that this isn't even related?" Stiles asked. "Maybe it's just some random murder."

"I don't think it was just one," Melissa said, shaking her head.

"Why's that?" Katie asked, forcing herself to turn around.

"Because that girl over there," Melissa said, turning to the second body. "She's got the exact same injuries."

"Great," Katie said, drawing out her words with dripping sarcasm. "Why can't it just be one random killing? Just once."

"The M.E said this wasn't just strangled," Melissa said, lowering the blanket that covered the female victim. The instant Stiles saw her face; he paled and backed away from the gurney. "Whoever did it used a garrote which is a stick that you put through the rope and you just -"

"Stiles?" Katie asked, noticing her friend's distancing. "Oh, My God! Is this her? I this Heather?"

Stiles nodded, tears in his eyes.

"Cover her up!" Katie told Melissa.

Melissa pulled the white sheet down over Heather and then grabbed Stiles' arm. "I am so sorry," she apologized. "I didn't even consider that you may have known her."

"I was... uh... at her party," Stiles stammered, trying to think through the fog that was settling inside his head.

Katie wrapped her arm around his side, and leaned into him. She understood how hard it must've been for Stiles to lose a childhood friend; she had felt the same when Jackson had momentarily died.

"OK, we need to call your father," Melissa said, "because you're now a witness."

"No, wait a minute," Stiles murmured, looking over his shoulder at the boy's body, and then back at Heather's.

Katie frowned and exchanged a look with Melissa and Aiden. Stiles looked rattled. She could see his mind working overtime, piecing together an invisible jigsaw puzzle.

"What is it?" Melissa asked.

"Purity," Stiles murmured.

"Purity?" Aiden repeated. "As in -?"

"Virgins," Katie concluded. "Why would virgins have anything to do with their murder?"

"Both Heather and this kid were virgins," Stiles' said. "They were both pure. The lifeguard wore a purity ring."

"You think someone is going around killing virgins?" Aiden asked, still confused on Stiles' trail of thought.

"No, no, of course not!" Stiles' replied. "Melissa, has anyone else been through here tonight? Any other bodies or anyone missing?"

"Huh, no, no bodies," Melissa stammered, trying to keep up. "But, um, two girls'. They brought the first one, Caitlin in for a tox screen, and then I overheard that her girlfriend, Emily just disappeared."

Stiles looked panic-stricken.

"What's going inside that head of yours?" Katie asked, touching his arm.

"We need to talk to that girl," Stiles said, trying to bypass Melissa.

Melissa stepped in front of him, and Katie tightened her hold on his arm. "Why do you have to talk to her?" she asked.

"Because I think I know what's happening," Stiles answered.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Finally having managed to get Cora and Boyd into the school, which had proved to be difficult considering the two rabid werewolves were more content with going _over_ the building rather than through it. Derek and Scott chased them down the corridor, Derek colliding with his sister as they turned a corner leading into the main hallway.

Cora snarled in anger as she was thrown from her feet into the lockers. She rolled over to see Derek standing over her. He still hadn't shifted, but she could tell by the way he tensed that he was only holding back.

Grabbing his sister by the collar, Derek threw her down the corridor towards Boyd. Despite being in full werewolf mode now, Boyd still didn't carry on. He had waited for Cora.

"Come and get us," Derek baited, once Cora was back to her feet. He and Scott then took off up the stairs behind them, and down the second corridor towards the basement. They could hear the snarling of Cora and Boyd as the chased after them.

Scurrying down the stairs, Derek wrenched open the doors to the boiler room, and hurried inside. Scott followed, and Boyd and Cora did so once they had arrived. Hiding in the shadows, Derek and Scott waited until Cora and Boyd were deep enough inside the room, before jumping out and slamming the door shut on them.

The two angered betas slammed their fists against the doors, hoping for release. But Derek held it firmly from the outside.

"Did that actually just work?" Scott asked. Even though he had said all along that it would work, and they wouldn't have to kill anybody, he was still surprised that it had worked effortlessly.

"It worked," Derek nodded.

Scott scoffed, and Derek pulled back from the door. Sliding down onto the floor opposite. Pushing off of the wall, Scott approached the door and lay against it, listening intently to the heartbeats on the other side.

"What do you hear?" Derek asked.

"Heartbeats," Scott answered.

"Both of them?"

"Actually," Scott said, a feeling of dread pooling in his stomach. "Three of them."

Derek's eyes snapped open, and he swallowed hard.

Three of them? How could there be three heartbeats inside the boiler room? Unless of course...?

Scott sighed; he knew this was too good to be true.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Melissa checked the corridor outside Caitlin's room. Making sure that no one was coming to see the patient, not while Stiles, Katie and Aiden were in there talking to her. Content that they were safe, Melissa nodded at the three teenagers, and closed the door quietly.

"Caitlin, can you tell us what happened?" Katie asked her voice soft and full of sympathy.

"We weren't doing anything that bad," Caitlin answered, tearfully, "I mean, I've camped out there plenty of times."

"OK, but why tonight?" Stiles asked.

"We wanted to be alone for one night," Caitlin answered. "Emily lives with her mom, and I have three roommates. They're not exactly romantic settings."

"How long have you two been together?" Katie asked.

"Three months."

"And you wanted to make it romantic?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah, uh, because..."

"It was her first time," Katie said, finishing for Caitlin.

Caitlin nodded, tears pooling in her dark eyes. "They're going to find her, right?" she asked, trying to sound hopeful.

Katie bit the inside of her cheek, while Aiden, Melissa and Stiles looked away. They knew that the chances of Emily being found alive were very slim, and given the blitz attacks of Heather and the lifeguard, there was a chance that Emily was already dead.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

"What are you doing?" Jackson asked, finding Scott and Derek outside of the boiler room. "Where are Cora and Boyd?"

"They're inside," Scott answered, nodding at the boiler room.

"Good. So it worked?" Jackson asked, sensing the heightened anxiety coming from his mates. "What's the problem?"

"There are three people inside," Scott explained.

"_Three_?!"

Scott nodded, and looked back at Derek. He was bracing himself against the steel door. A look of determination on his face. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Lock the door behind me," Derek instructed.

"If you go in there," said Scott, "you're either going to kill them or they'll kill you."

"It's two against one," Jackson said. "My money's on them killing you."

Derek looked between the two betas. "That's why I'm going in alone," he said.

"Derek, wait -" Jackson said, shooting up from his crouch at the top of the staircase. But Derek didn't wait, he ripped open the door and darted inside before anyone could stop him.

Scott sighed and closed the door again, locking it behind Derek.

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

"Do you want me to stay?" Aiden asked, as Katie walked with him back to his bike.

She shook her head. "I wouldn't mind if you did," she said. "But the others may not be as understanding as me. They know you're an alpha, and they know that you're a part of the Alpha pack. At the moment they consider you the threat."

"But you know we're not."

"I know _you're_ not," Katie corrected. "But I don't know the others, and Ethan's always had it in for me. I'm not saying he would kill me, but I also don't want to find out what kind of damage he could do. You already broke my wrist just by grabbing my arm."

"And I apologized for that."

Katie nodded. "I know," she said. "But the others, except for Isaac, think that I caught it in the car door. I know for a fact that Jackson would see red if he knew it had been you; and I don't want either one of you to get hurt."

"Fair enough," Aiden nodded. He grabbed his helmet from the bike, and turned back to Katie. "Not exactly the type of date I was expecting," he teased.

Katie rolled her eyes. "You got to spend the night with me," she said. "What are you complaining about?"

"Well, you and Stilinski," Aiden corrected.

"You were still with me."

Aiden smirked. "See you at school, Katie," he said, jumping onto his bike, and putting on his helmet. He jumped started the engine, and sped off down the street.

Katie sighed as she watched him go, already wishes he had stayed. So what if the others didn't trust him? She did, that should've accounted for something, right?

Katie looked up as Stiles joined her outside of the hospital. He had just finished talking with Melissa, who had agreed that Scott needed to see the bodies of the lifeguard and Heather in detail. The more they all knew about what had happened, the better understanding they would have about what they were up against.

"Scott's on his way," Stiles said.

Katie nodded.

"You want to tell me why you were with Aiden?" Stiles asked. "What about Isaac?"

"We broke up."

"You and Isaac?"

Katie nodded. "Well, we're on hold," she corrected. "I couldn't make him wait for me."

"Or you didn't want him to get hurt because a part of you is craving Aiden?"

Katie sighed, looked down and then back up at Stiles. "I don't know what to do," she said. "I love Isaac, really I do."

"But...?"

"I love Aiden too."

**~*The Hunt is On*~**

Katie shivered as she stood alongside the table that held the body of Heather Barnes. Beside her was Stiles. He was staring at the body of his childhood friend sorrowfully, and tearfully. He hadn't said a word about her since Melissa had revealed her to be dead.

"Dude, I'm sorry," Scott apologized, squeezing his best friend's shoulder. "If we had found her sooner..."

"There was nothing that could be done," Stiles answered, wiping a tear from his face.

Deciding to spare Stiles the heartbreak any longer, Katie lifted the white sheet and covered Heather with it completely. She smiled at Stiles and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. It was ironic that when she first moved back to Beacon Hills she and Stiles had been at opposite ends of the playing field, and now they depended on each other more than most.

"So Boyd and Cora didn't kill the kid at the pool?" Scott asked.

"No," Katie answered. "The wounds on him and the ones on Heather are a match. There is no way Boyd and Cora could've killed Heather, they were locked in the vault when she went missing, and there is definitely no way that they would've done it with a garrote."

"So what are we dealing with exactly?" Jackson asked.

"We're not exactly sure yet," Stiles answered. "The other girl who was out in the woods. Emily. Eventually they're going to find her. She's one of them. Emily, Heather, the guy Lydia found at the pool. All three were virgins. And they're all going to have the same three injuries. Strangled, throat slashed, head bashed in."

"It's called the 'three fold death," Katie explained, noticing the confused looks on Scott and Jackson's faces.

"So if these aren't random killings, what are they?" Scott asked.

Stiles sighed and exchanged a look with Katie. She nodded, and lowered her gaze, allowing him to give the conclusion they had already made after learning Emily was a virgin.

"Sacrifices," Stiles said. "Human sacrifices."

* * *

**Copyrighted ©**

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**Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx**

**Chapter updated Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 4:17pm**


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